


Kingdom Hearts: Shards of Darkness 1

by shuubunni



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Shards of Darkness [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Added Worlds, Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, F/M, Female Original Character(s) - Freeform, Have I mentioned there are OC's in this cause there are, Kairi/Female Original Character, M/M, Multi, No Generic Disney Chars Sorry Folks, Polyamory, Removed Worlds, Retelling, Will there be smut? only time will tell, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-10-26 22:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 109,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuubunni/pseuds/shuubunni
Summary: Takes place during the original Kingdom Hearts 1. How will Sora cope with this new, darker and mysterious Universe; with his equally new and mysterious companions, the distant samurai Ashi-no-Hotaru and the spunky, yo-yo wielding Shidou?





	1. New Paths and Strange Places

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this chapter in (ugh) 2014, and while new edits and sections HAVE been added, a lot of the text may still be a bit cringe-worthy. My newer chapters are a lot better, please bare with me!

  
Darkness. A dark shadow that loomed over a once beautiful blue sky of an island, now broken and shattered by the tendrils of darkness. Faces of people he knew, faces of people he didn't know. Friends, allies, things. Flashes. Images of what was, what is, and what could be. Was it just a dream? A sick illusion of a dark Fate of the place that he knew, the place he had grown up in. A place swallowed by the Shadows and the promise of Darkness. Of a door that he would soon open. What was it all? What did it mean.

 

Kairi.

Riku.

 

What had happened to them…?  
  
~~~~~

 

Suddenly he jolted awake from that nightmare that he thought had occurred to his home. Blue eyes looked towards a sky swallowed by night, with beautiful stars that glistened in the night. It was only then that he looked down and around his surroundings.

A dark ally-way where crates, barrels, trashcans and dumpsters resided. He rested upon a cobble-stone path littered with trash and something that didn't smell all too pleasant. This place didn't seem familiar. With his head in a daze, he didn't even notice that he wasn't alone in this ally. A pair of curious golden eyes peered up from the ground, beyond the boy's large yellow shoes. The eyes were framed by soft brown fur and a pair of large, long rabbit ears that fell onto the ground beside the small and fluffy creature. A collar with a little bell attached to it was around it's neck, signifying that it had an owner. The animal tilted its head sideways and looked up at the boy with a curious glance. With a few more blinks, it realized something, and bounced once into the air, revealing a bunny-like body.

The sudden movement caught the boy's attention while he ran his fingers through his spiked brunette hair. His eyes looked down towards the animal and tilted his head as he looked at it. How cute…

"Meya!" It said with enthusiasm and continued to bounce up and down. Bouncing…giggling…darkness! Suddenly the boy snapped up to his feet as it struck him like lighting - he wasn't on his Island anymore! Where was he?! And more importantly, where were…?

"Kairi! Riku!!" He yelled as he dashed off into town, which left the poor creature in the dust and it looked quite confused at the sudden burst of energy from the boy. Shortly after the boy had rushed out of the ally, the creature made a startled meowing noise and started off after him. It couldn't let him get away! After all, he was the lock!  
  


The boy rushed into the city and hastily looked around. This really wasn't his home! The houses were completely different and it wasn't free and open like his Island was. All cramped and city like! But how did he get here? More over, what happened to his friends, his family? _His island_?

Slowly, he drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes, his gloved hands clenching.

"Okay, Sora," He said to himself in a re-assured voice, "Calm down. Being rushed about this isn't going to help!" Another deep breath, "I'll just…ask around town a bit. See what's going on, where I am…what could have happened to my home! Right. They'll be able to help me! I'm sure Riku and Kairi are here, too! _Nothing_ to worry about!" He glanced around and then let out a defeated sigh. "Aww, who am I _kidding_?! This place is huge! It'll take forever to find them!!" He sighed again as he spotted an item shop across the way. Maybe they went into that place. "Well, the only way to find them is to start looking!" After the little self pep-talk, the boy, Sora walked towards the shopping district to ask around.

 

Sora pushed the heavy wooden door open that lead to the item's shop – well, that’s what he assumed, given the gigantic sign hanging over the door stating that fact. To his astonishment, he noticed a trio of ducks, which were clad in t-shirts and baseball caps, who tended to their stock. Not humans. Ducks. Real, living ducks, walking like humans! Okay, he _really_ wasn't on his island anymore! There were no animals in costumes there! More over, they didn't walk on two legs and had intelligence about them! For a while, he gawked at them, his jaw slack and his bright blue eyes wide in both shock and curiosity. Finally, one of them noticed him as he store at them, and looked up at him.

" _What_? You haven't seen ducks before?" He said in a snarky tone. Sora flushed and shook his head, not really sure how to react to ducks that _talked_.

"Err, I-I have…it's just that…" He hesitated as he tried to find words that would hopefully not offend these nice peop-- err, _ducks_. "…It's just that I uh…I haven't seen any like you before?" The duck that addressed him rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Really now? You must be from some back-water world, then!"

"W-world …?" Sora stuttered in shock as he store down at the little animal. World? Did he mean that…did he mean that he was on another _world_?! His jaw fell to the ground in astonishment. Another world! They really _did_ exist out there! But, if he was here, then what happened to his Island…?

"Jeez, kid!" The duck snorted, "You really _are_ from some back-water world! Judging from your reaction, you don't know about other worlds out there, right?" Sora nodded his head in response, unable to say anything else at this point, "Well, then. You're in the right place!" The duck grinned and hopped up onto the counter, where the other two followed suit.

"You're in Traverse Town!" The one in blue grinned, "This place is the meeting point of all worlds. Generally, if you get lost or something like that, you end up here!"

"Because this is a nexus," The green one continued, "Most travelers come here first. We've got expert ship builders here, travel guides, places that make great resorts or tourist attractions! Just name it, and we've got your traveling needs here!" Sora nodded his head as he took this all in, though at the moment, it was a little too much to handle. Sure, he had always dreamed about other worlds, but just this morning, he didn't think any actually existed! And now he was in a strange world with ducks that _talked!_

"But…" The one in red said as he folded his arms - wings - _whatever_ , "If you ended up here and didn't know the fact that other worlds existed, well…" Sora froze and gulped loudly. The tone of voice that duck spoke in wasn't good. And with the judgment of their previous conversation, he was going to tell him in the bluntest way possible. "…Well, it just means you found an invisible stream that allowed you to slip from one world to the next. It happens sometimes." Oh god! That was a relief! Sora breathed out a deep sigh, though it still didn't ease his troubled mind. He knew where he was, and how he probably got there…but what about his friends? And his island? What about that darkness and the monsters that attacked it?

With another deep breath, Sora sorted his priorities. First, he had to find his friends. Then he could worry about his world! Somehow, something deep inside of him said that his friends weren’t on the Island anymore, but someplace else…kind of like what happened to him. And…what about what he remembered? The Darkness consuming Riku, Kairi disappearing into thin air? Something deep within his gut told him that they were out there, somewhere, waiting to be found. And Sora was the only one who could do it!

"So, is there anything we might be able to help you with?" The red one said with a grin, "An item or two? A potion, a new weapon, some candy?" Sora blinked. Ah, well, he couldn't really blame them for trying to sell him stuff…they were, despite their ducky appearances, still shop owners, always willing to ring as much money out of a customer as possible. Money which Sora, unfortunately, didn't have.

"Err, sorry guys, I don't have any money with me…" He didn’t even get to finish the sentence before one of the ducks cut him off.

"Then get out of our store! We _hate_ window shoppers!" The red-clad duck snapped his wing towards the door, the other two followed suit afterwards. A distraught sigh escaped from Sora's throat as he gave a weak wave of his hand towards the trio. Jeez, he didn’t even get a chance to ask about his friends!

"Well, thanks for your help anyway." He said as he headed towards the door.

"And next time," The one in green shouted, " _Come in with some cash, bozo_!"

"Jeez," Sora muttered as he walked out of the item shop and glanced over his shoulder, "I didn't think they would be so rude! I mean, I'm lost and looking for my friends! They didn't need to bet that _mean_ about my lack of money! Honestly…" The boy sighed and shook his head. Even though he had been booted out of one store because he didn't have anything to buy anything with, he dared to enter another in hopes that the same thing wouldn't happen to him again. He turned his eyes onto an 'accessory' shop, quite possibly a place where someone might find jewelry or something of that nature. Hey, maybe he'd have better luck in there. Kairi might be in someplace like that!

As he opened the door, he spotted a rather gruff-and-tough around the edges kind of a man - an older, middle-aged man - who stood behind the counter. The man was hissing a string of obscenities under his breath as he tinkered with what looked like to be a pocket watch. He took deep drags from his cigarette as he pried and prodded the golden trinket with a screwdriver. Well, that man certainly wasn't the kind of person he was _expecting_ to find in a place that sold pretty, sparkly items to girls. With a loud growl, the man threw the item across the room where it smacked against the wall and popped open, and fell to the ground.

"Fucking piece of shit!" The man hissed, " _Now_ you open you little bastard?!" With another growl, he opened a tool drawer and stuffed the screwdriver inside and angrily snuffed out his cigarette in a near-by ash tray. Sora store up at the man with slightly wide eyes. _Hardly_ the type of fellow to run a place like that! Not only that, but he had never heard so many curse words in a single sentence! In shock, his mouth gaped open as he wondered if he should even _approach_ this guy.

"U-um…" His voice feebly squeaked out, which drew out the man's attention. The blonde-man blinked and snorted as he leaned over the counter.

"Err, sorry 'bout that, shrimp," He muttered, "The damn watch wouldn't open…anyway, what can I do for 'ya?" It took Sora a few moments to snap out of his daze of 'oh-my-god-this-guy-is-crazy.' He blinked again and, after her realized he was still gawking, shook his head and laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "Well? I ain't got all day!" The man coarsely responded. Sora yelped slightly and laughed again as he approached the counter.

"W-well…" He started, "I'm a little…uh, lost, I guess. Just this evening I was on my isl-- err, I mean, my World. Next thing I know, I'm here! I'm beginning to wonder if it was all a dream or not…" The man snorted and fumbled with a pack of cigarettes and withdrew one and popped it into his mouth. As he lit it, he cut off Sora's little explanation.

"And?" He muttered as he took a drag from it, "What's yer point?" Sora blinked and decided to skip all of the unimportant stuff and get right to what he was looking for.

"Er, what I mean to say is…" He said, "My friends, they disappeared with my home. I don't know where they are, but if I ended up here, I think they might have too! Do you think you could help me find them?" With another long drag from his cigarette, the man blew out a puff of smoke and put his hands on his hips.

"Well, if ya did end up here without a ship, and they vanished like you…" He mused, "Yeah, the might be here. Can't say for sure. Whatt're their names?"

"Kairi and Riku," Well, this guy wasn't so bad after all! A little course, but otherwise he was _far_ more helpful then those rude ducks! "Kairi's a girl with short red-brown hair and blue eyes…a little shorter then I am and a little younger. Riku's a boy who's taller and older then I am, with long silver hair and aqua eyes." The man looked up and pondered for a moment as he puffed on his cigarette. After he flipped through his mind of people who he had met recently, he came up empty-handed and shrugged.

"Sorry, kid, can't say I've seen 'em." Sora drooped at this comment and sighed deeply as he gave a weak wave towards the man as he went to go out to ask some more people.

"Thanks for your help anyway, mister." The man arched an eyebrow at Sora and sighed as he wavered his hand.

"Hold on, kid. Ya don't need to go off in a slump just because _I_ haven't seen 'em. Get yer ass back here!" Sora halted and turned around to look back at the man, "Do'ya think you could tell me _what_ happened? I might be able to help…see'n is I know quite a bit about travelin' between worlds." The boy's face lit up. Finally, someone who wanted to help him! Sure, the man wasn’t the most _ideal_ to be talking about this kind of stuff, but at least he wanted to help. Eagerly, Sora walked over to the counter to look up at the man, though his eagerness faded when he recalled what had happened on his island. He looked to the ground with remorse in his eyes and sighed.

"I still don't know if it was a dream or if it was real," Sora said, "But, I guess it was real, if I ended up here. I was in my room and waiting for dinner to be ready, then suddenly this…black cloud formed over the island. I rushed out to see what was going on, and my friend's boats where there. My friend, Riku, got swallowed by the darkness, and then these…shadow-creatures appeared…And--"

"Wait, wait, hold it!" The man cut off, which caused Sora to snap his head up and glare slightly at him, "Did you say 'shadow creatures?'" Sora nodded, "Kinda buggy critters, golden eyes, crawls about on all fours?" Again, Sora nodded. "Shit..."

"W-what is it, mister?" He looked worriedly up at the man.

"…Nothin'," The man lied as he too a long, hard drag from his cigarette and stuffed it into the ashtray when there was nothing left to smoke, "I jus' didn't think that they'd spread so _quickly…_ " Sora paled as he placed his hands on the counter. So those things that he dreamt about, the things on the island! They were real?! Then, Riku and Kairi, they were gone too?! And his home…?

"W-what are they?"

"…Nothin' of impotence," The man lied again as he withdrew another smoke and lit it. Sora pouted and would have retaliated, but figured he didn't want the same amount of wall-throwing as that poor pocket watch had to go through. He could tell the man was lying, but figured he'd find out sooner or later. As long as he could help Sora find his friends, he'd be okay with it.

"A-anyway…I'm Sora," He changed the subject from the one at hand.

"Cid Highwind," The man responded as he puffed out a long stream of smoke from his mouth. "So kid, you should start looking for 'em here. Chances are, if they're like you, the probably slipped into a stream that lead them to this point. Only way ta find 'em is to look, the good ol' fashion way. If you want any more help, you can come ta me, and I'll keep my eyes out for 'em too." Sora's face brightened that he had finally found some help, even though it was in this ill-mannered poor-spoken man named Cid.

"Thanks, Mr. Cid!"

"Just call me Cid," With a grunt, Cid snuffed out his third cigarette in this short time that he and Sora had talked, "And good luck, kid. You'll need it." Although the last phrase was a little confusing to Sora, he merely shrugged it off and waved as he went to exit the shop.

"Thanks! I'll see you around!" With a confident sigh, he opened the door and stepped out into the night street, and began to look for his friends and, maybe, a few answers as to what the heck was going on with him, or what happened…or, hell, everything! As soon as he found his friends, he'd start to ask questions. Yeah! Before he'd know it, Riku and Kairi would be back with him! Then they could all go home…if they had a home anymore, that is…  
  


 

Cid had managed to gather himself up enough to grab that pesky pocket watch from the other side of the room. He snapped it close again and tried to open it, but to no avail. Sure enough, a string of obscenities flew from his mouth as he wrestled with the damn thing a bit before he stalked back to his counter. This time, he wasn't too enthralled in his attempt to repair the shiny golden thing to notice the door open again. He jerked his head up and arched a brow. Another face he didn't recognize.

In poked the face of a girl, probably 16 or so, with shoulder-length black hair that flipped up against her shoulders, her long bangs streaked with green. Obviously she favored green, considering almost every article of her comfortable clothing had some form of green on it. Her bright aqua eyes looked around the shop, then down towards her feet.

“Fuku, you _sure_ you saw this 'lock' fellow come in here? And I keep tellin' ya, it's a 'key,' not a 'lock!'” She commented with a wave of her finger, not even noticing Cid. A little rabbit-cat thing meowed and nodded it's head. “Well, I sure don't see him! Is he a magician that can teleport? Only one door in!” She put her hands on her hips and looked around the shop, _still_ not noticing Cid. “Wonder where the kiddo ran off--”

“'Scuse me!” Cid barked, causing the girl to look up at him and _finally_ notice that he was there. “You need something or what?”

The girl blinked, but then flashed a bright smile. “Oh, nothin'! Just looking for a 'spunky kid' running around here!” The rabbit-cat bounced up and down and meowed excitedly, the little bell jingling on her collar. The girl laughed, “My, er, pet here is _very_ excited she saw this fellow, and now she can't shut up about him!”

"Well...” Cid said, quirking a brow. "Some kid with a lot of damn pep just left. He was lookin' for his friends. World up 'n got swallowed by the Heartless. Poor kid…"

"Wait, what? This kid's world _vanished_?” The girl blinked, looking startled. She reached her hand up and scratched her head. “Man! I wasn't expecting it to happen so _soon!_ ”

"Eh?" Cid tilted his head.

The girl gave an awkward laugh, “N-nothing!” She waved her hands in front of her. Cid cocked another brow, knowing an awkward lie when he saw one. The girl obviously picked up on it and grinned uneasily. “A-anyway...you mentioned a kid?”

“Yeah. 'Bout 14, spiky brown hair. Looked like he had permanent bed-head.”

The girl once again looked down at her pet, Fuku, who continued to bounce up and down excitedly, making chirping meows. Jerking her head up, she rushed towards the counter and slammed her hands on it...causing the items on it to shake. Cid's eyes widened at the sudden burst of speed and strength from this scrawny-looking girl, who looked up at him with surprisingly mature eyes.

“Where is he?” Her previously jovial tone had vanished.

“Err...” Cid was still taken aback, but quickly cleared his throat. He didn't remember that kid mentioning a black-haired girl in his list of friends...and he wasn't sure what her intentions were. He whipped out another cigarette and lit it, taking a drag before crossing his arms.

“Why don't ya tell me what the hell you want with him first, kid.”

“I'm _not_ a kid.” The girl insisted.

Cid rolled his eyes. “Yeah, _sure_.” Another drag, “But tell me what ya want.”

The girl studied him intently for a few moments, neither one of them letting up. After a tense few seconds, she lifted her hands off the counter and swung them before her.

“Oh, nutbunnies! I can tell I won't lose to you,” She managed a laugh, but her gaze became serious again. “Look, I was sent on a mission to investigate the worlds disappearing, the Heartless, and to find the Key. Er, the wielder of, rather.” Cid's cigarette slipped from his lips the moment she said 'Key.' “Fuku here found him, but he ran off before she could get two words in! Right girl?” She smiled down at the animal, who nodded her head. “It's _really really_ important that I find this kid! So, can you _please_ tell me where he went to?”

“Aw, shit. I ain't got no damn idea!” Cid huffed, bending over to get his cigarette and stuffing it back in his mouth. The girl nearly fell over in exasperation. He took several puffs, eyeing her. “But, if he's the Keybarer...trouble'll find him pretty quick. I'd check the third district – most o' the buggers are massing there.”

The girl's face lit up, and she leaped over the counter and grabbed hold of one of Cid's hands. “Thank you, gramps!” She chirped, giving it a hearty shake and nearly crushing it between her fingers.

“H-hey, let go!” Cid growled, “'N don't call me gramps!”

The girl giggled, “Yeah, yeah!” She quickly turned on her heal and gave a wave, “Thanks a bunch!” And, like that, she practically tore through the door and out into the street, her pet following after her.

"Jeez, this is gunna be a fun day, I c'n tell…" Cid sighed with a scratch of his head. He'd need to track down Leon and the others, let them know the Key had shown up.

  
  
~~~~~

 

So excited that his friends were probably _somewhere_ in this strange new place, Sora didn't really notice where he was going. The place was huge - especially in terms of his island! - and there were a lot of nooks and crannies all around the place! It seemed like the kind of place both of his closest friends would like, so naturally, they'd be there…right? Just like the secret spot back home! He kept an optimistic look on the situation; this city was so big, they were bound to be floating around in the area. At least, that's what he hoped.

He found that his yellow shoes lead him into another section of the large city, away from the bright lights of the shopping district that he had been in before. Sora looked up to the large, heavy-set doors before him with a confident smile on his face. He'd find them, for sure! And as an added bonus, he got to explore someplace new! Another world…he couldn't wait to tell Kairi and Riku about this place! That other worlds _did_ exist! With a bright grin on his face, Sora could feel his fingers tingle with anticipation as he placed his hands on one door and shoved it open, and found that they weren’t as heavy as they appeared to be. With a loud creak, the door opened and revealed the path into a more residential sector of the city, with a few shops here and there for convenience.

With his first step into the new part of the town, Sora walked upon a large balcony that overlooked a rather fancy fountain towards a central square in the middle of this sector. A strange looking shop rested across from him, and to his left he noticed an inn - good to know for if he couldn't find his friends before it became too late.

"Ack…" Sora drooped when he remembered he didn't have any sort of money and sighed deeply, "I'll just be kicked out on the street again!" A depressed sigh came from him, "I'd be better off with that weird geezer in the accessory shop…"

A loud bang came from behind the young boy and he jumped with a loud squawk from his throat, and Sora whirled around to notice that the door had slammed shut behind him, his heart throbbing in his chest. Was that supposed to happen? Somehow, deep inside of him, the excitement had vanished and was replaced with uneasiness. Sora laughed nervously as he looked around this oddly-quiet section of town, and then suddenly notice there were _no people_ here. There were a lot walking around in the area he was in before…but this area was completely silent. No movement, no activity…not even within the stores or the homes. Come to think of it, most of the windows in the homes were boarded up. This realization left him with a rather unnerving feeling in his gut. Another nervous laugh, as if to shake the nervousness away, came from him as he looked around.

"Eh-heh…" Cautiously, he took a step forward, his blue eyes wary of his surroundings, "I-it's probably nothing, right? They all are just in bed, I'm sure! Yeah, that's it…" It was almost as if he attempted to fool himself that nothing could _possibly_ be wrong. But still…it was far too quiet for his tastes. With that in mind, he decided to head towards the Inn and see if they wouldn't mind housing a broke person, or at least, know what's going on. Besides…wasn't the other section of town still busy with people? Why would only _this sector_ be completely dead?

As Sora turned to head towards the luminescent building, he suddenly heard a loud scream come from behind him. He whirled around and noticed a middle-aged man rush towards him, complete with panic in his eyes. Sora's own widened in fear as he noticed something that chased the man…something that looked too familiar.

A shadow like creature, only about waist-high on Sora, adorned with silver armor, suddenly jumped on the man and plunged it's claws deep into his flesh and ripped out an item that glittered in the evening light - something that was heart shaped. The man's form melted away and was quickly replaced with darkness, as his form twisted and changed into that of a shadowy, bug-like creature that Sora knew all too well.

The things from the Island.

The things that destroyed it.

Completely frozen, Sora watched in horror as more of the creatures began to appear around him. Oh god…what was going on?! What were those things?! Why were they here, as well as on the Island?! What if…what if Kairi and Riku were attacked by them?! What about the man who-- So overwhelmed with thoughts, Sora didn't even notice them as they drew closer to him. And as they did, he felt a sensation tingle through his right hand as a stream of light appeared in it, materializing into a strange weapon that appeared to be a giant key, yet was held and wielded like a sword. His blue eyes looked down to the weapon and slowly blinked.

"H-huh…This thing again?!" He lifted it up and examined it. It had appeared in his hands in the Island, and a kind voice chanted that it was something called a 'Keyblade.' In Sora's awe of where the item came from, he failed to notice that the shadow creatures encroached closer towards him, and it wasn't until one leapt for him that he was brought back out of his trance to the situation at hand. "Wagh!" He wailed as he raised the weapon up to block it. Just what _were_ these things?! And how the hell could he fight them?! Sora took a step back away from them and looked about the group of the buggy-monsters with a worried expression. Sure, he had play-fought with the other kids on the Island, but this…this was for real! He could actually _die_ from this! Totally different from before…there was little hope or courage in him now, but Sora had to find a way, just like he did on the Island! Yeah…just try to find that same feeling again…

“Look out!”

Sora jerked his head around to see one of the shadow creatures lunging toward him. He began to turn and start to raise the strange weapon in his hand, but something else beat him to it. The creature disbursed into wisps of black smoke, vanishing as if it hadn't been there before.

A girl came charging in, wielding a long and elegant-looking pole-arm in her hands. Sora didn't even get to get a good look at her, since she swung her weapon around and knocked a group of the buggy things into the air and away from him. Turning around towards another group, she pointed her off-hand out and released what looked like a blast of ice from it, which quickly froze that group. The girl then leaped in the air and brought her weapon down on them, shattering them to pieces.

All Sora did was gawk.

Whipping around, he got a quick look at her face, and she was glaring at him. “What are you doing?!” She snapped, “You have a weapon, _use_ it!”

Sora was startled by her harsh words, but remembered he _did_ have a weapon. One that worked well enough on these... _things_...back home. He saw the girl lunge into the fray again, using her pole-arm effectively to get rid of them. Well, it was time to buck up! Sora thought of Riku then, how brave he always was, and how he wasn't afraid to face anything that was frightening. Pursing his lips together, he nodded at the girl and gripped the Keyblade in his hands.

He could do this!

With a shout, Sora rushed forward and swung the weapon out at one of the shadow monsters. Bringing it down on the monster's head, he found it disbursed as easily as they had on his island. Swinging it around, he cleaved through a few more, but quickly found the armored ones weren't as easy to get rid of. He bashed one over the head and it lashed out at him.

“Wah--” Sora barely managed to block in time, but by now the creature was readying another attack. Sora couldn't react fast enough to block this time! What could he--

Flower petals suddenly fell around him. Sora looked up when he smelled the aroma of flowers, looking around him. However, he noticed the creature was moving...a lot slower then before. Actually, _all_ of them were. He blinked his eyes curiously and wondered what exactly happened.

“Now!” The girl's voice commanded, Sora remembered he was in the middle of a fight. Ducking under the slow-moving offending claws of the armored monster, he jabbed the Keyblade out towards his stomach, watching it burst into mist-like tendrils.

The world resumed it's normal pace again, and all of the creatures had been defeated. Sora panted heavily, unused to this kind of physical exertion and adrenaline. What...what the heck was going _on?_

“Are you alright?”

Sora blinked and looked up, seeing his savior walk towards him. Now that she wasn't in constant motion, it was easier to get a measure. She was quite a bit taller then he was – and Riku too, he figured – and a little older then he was. Maybe 16 or so. She had abnormally pale skin and wavy, short dark indigo hair, with longer bangs in the front. She was quite pretty come to think of it, with her heart-shaped face and delicate looking features, though her pale blue eyes were kind of...frightening, actually. Almost white. Sora shuddered looking at them.

She wore clothing he hadn't seen before, too. Some kind of robe with one sleeve off and tucked into her sash, the robe fading from black to purple and adorned at the bottom with strange white flowers he hadn't seen. A scarf was around her neck and had a long tie that trailed behind her. She also wore gauntlets and baggy pants that tied just past her knee, and black sandals. The girl carried her spear in her left hand, lifting it up and resting it against her shoulder. Strange black tattoos ran down the tops of her arms. How odd...

“Um...y-yeah,” Sora swallowed and tried to catch his breath. “I-I...I th-think so...”

“Hm.” The girl made a humming noise – acknowledgment? - but her eyes trailed down towards his weapon. Her eyes widened and her brows rose. “A key...!” She gasped.

Sora blinked and looked down at the over-sized key in his hand. “Key?” He questioned, watching it disburse into specs of light. He blinked his eyes in confusion. “Wait, you know what this thing is?”

“Sort of,” The girl responded, looking over her shoulder. “Come with me. It's not safe here, and the others will know more then I do.” With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk away.

“Um...!” Sora blinked, “W-wait, hold on!!” The girl stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. Odd, her robe was open in the back, exposing her shoulder blades completely. “Can't you tell me what the heck is going _on?_ ”

The girl scoffed. “ _As I said_ , it's not safe here. The Heartless could appear at any moment, and you're too valuable to get mobbed.” Her pretty face shot another pointed look at him. “And too I think you're too inexperienced for me to leave you alone.”

Sora bristled under the comment, returning her glare. “W-well _excuse_ me for not having any real combat experience!” He complained, stamping his foot. “Look, I just lost my home! My mom, my friends, _everything!_ I don't know where I am _or_ what's going on! I have to find Kairi and Riku, and...” He huffed at her and crossed his arms. “And I'm not leaving until I at _least_ know your name!”

The girl looked down at him with a flat, neutral expression. However, as he ranted at her, her gaze softened. Sighing, she turned to face him and lowered her pole-arm from her shoulder.

“Forgive me. Times are...desperate, and I forget my manners.” The girl bowed deeply and respectfully at her waist, then rose up. “I am Rinjuuken Ashi-no-Hotaru, daughter of the samurai warlord, Rinjuuken Asato-no-Mi. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.” She bowed again. “Though, I am typically called just Ashino.” She added dryly, rising up from her bow.

That was an incredibly complicated introduction. Where was she _from?_ She certainly didn't look like anyone else Sora saw in the city! But, he was glad he at least knew her name.

“Right, Ashi!” He smiled. Ashino quirked an eyebrow at the further shortening of her name, but didn't comment. “I'm Sora.”

“Sora...” Her voice trailed off, “...Hm. Must be after your eyes.”

“Eh?” Sora blinked, reaching up to touch his eyelids. Why did she say that?

Ashi sighed, “Nevermind. We should get going – I promise there will be further explanation once we're someplace safe.” Sora pursed his lips and nodded. Although he still was unsure about a lot of things, at least he knew Ashi's name. Her gaze softened slightly again. “And...I know what it's like.”

“What what's like?” Sora tilted his head to the side. Ashi sighed and turned on her heel, resting her pole-arm against her shoulder again. She began to walk forward, Sora scurrying to catch up.

“To lose your home.”

 

-~-~-~-

 

Ashino had taken Sora to the Inn not far from where they were, and lead him to a room. There were some weird, glowing glyphs on the ground, which apparently formed a barrier. However, her companions weren't around, and she wasn't sure where they were. Of course, she left Sora with strict instructions to stay put, and _of course_ he didn't listen to her. The instant she was out the door, he was following after.

“Didn't I tell you to stay where you are?” She grumbled, but didn't try to stop him from following her.

“Y-yeah, but...” Sora glanced off to the side, trying to find a good excuse.

“Sora, you wield the Key,” Ashi continued, glancing down at him over her shoulder. “It's the Key to defeating the Heartless, I think. It's important and so are you. We need you to be alive and _safe_.”

“I'll be fine!” Sora insisted, “I have this...Keyblade, or whatever! And you're pretty strong too, right Ashi?” He thumped his chest with his fist, “So I'll be safe with you!”

Ashi turned to him and sighed, rubbing her temples. “Sora, I can't always protect you,” She grumbled, lowering her hand to glare at him. “My battle style isn't suited for defense. What I did before to speed up your perception and reflexes is the limit to what I can do.” Sora pouted at her. “The Heartless are dangerous. So until you can readily defend yourself against them, you need to _stay put_.”

Sora returned her glare. “Then teach me!”

“Sora--”

“I may have only really play-fought before...but I'm a quick learner!” Sora continued, “Especially when it comes to sports and physical activities! Show me what I can do and I'll _do_ it!! I won't let you down!” He clenched his fists excitedly, his eyes brimming with determination.

Ashi sighed and let out a hollow chuckle, shaking her head. “Well, at least you have determination. _That's_ something, at least.” Sora pouted again.

“What's that supposed to mean?!”

“It means, if you really want to learn how to fight to defend _yourself_ from the Heartless, you'll need it.” Lowering her pole-arm – Sora had learned it was called a Naginata – she looked at him with a serious expression. “I can't teach you much right now, but if you want to learn...I'm an _excellent_ teacher.”

“Alright!!” Sora pumped his fist into the air and did a little jump. “Thanks, Ashi! I know you _won't_ regret it!”

A wry grin, “I just hope I don't regret this...” She muttered in an aside, which Sora didn't quite catch. “Anyway, do you know how to use magic?”

“Magic?” Sora blinked his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “Like, card tricks, making people disappear, that kind of stuff?”

“No, I mean _real_ magic, not parlor tricks.” Ashi lifted her off-hand up and summoned a sphere of purple-and-orange fire within it. Sora's eyes widened. Then again...he _did_ notice she had done something with ice before. But he wasn't sure what it was... “Like this.”

“Whoa...” Sora gawked, his jaw hanging slack. “L-like a wizard in Harry Potter or something!”

Ashi called off the fireball and quirked a brow. “Wizard? Harry Potter?” She looked confused.

“Um...N-nevermind...” Sora muttered. He had to remember he was on a different world now, and Ashi actually came from yet _another_ world entirely. He wondered if Pokemon was a thing elsewhere too, or if he was alone in that as well.

Ashi shrugged. “But I take it you don't.” Sora shook his head. Ashi leaned her Naginata against the wall of the hallway they were in, and knelt down before Sora. He felt uncomfortable under her intense, ethereal gaze, but felt even moreso when her hands came out and rested on his shoulders. He jerked from the touch and felt his face begin to burn.

“I'm going to feed some of my energy into you,” Ashi explained, “It will help...kickstart your magic. It may feel a little weird, but it should help.” Sure enough, Sora felt a warm, tingly feeling sweeping over him, spreading down from his shoulders through the rest of his body. “Now, close your eyes and focus.” Sora complied and took a deep breath. “Look deep within yourself, not physically but metaphorically. Find your center and your heart. Magic lies deep within your heart and your mind, you only need to _unlock_ it.” Sora tried to focus on the feeling of her magic flowing into him. “ _Feel_ your magic, feel it's voice. Don't try to force it, it won't come that way. Allow it to flow through you like a river...even a river can destroy a mountain with enough time. And--”

 

~~~~~

 

Although Sora had tried to listen to every word that Ashi’s soft voice said, tried to focus very hard on his inner sight, her words eventually drowned out and nothing but silence played within his ears. Slowly, his eyes – which had been closed before – opened up to view nothing but blackness surrounding every sense he held. A still silence with no movement, no odor, no feeling. It was like his entire body was numb, and yet, he could feel it at the same time. His eyes darted around the dark nothingness that surrounded him, trying to figure out where he was.

Was this another dream?

He had been having a lot of them recently. Well, they were less dreams and more like strange visions that ended in horrifying nightmares. Not two days before his Island was destroyed by the shadow monsters, Sora had a dream containing them. That dream, too, was covered in darkness, the only thing he could see was himself…and beautiful stained-glass floors.

But this was different.

Before, a kind voice guided him down the path he needed to take. Telling him to have faith in himself, and not to be afraid. Not to mention a lot of talk about “doors” and “worlds” and things like that. Now, in this darkness, Sora heard no comforting voice. He saw nothing, he heard nothing, he felt nothing. The darkness was beginning to get the better of him as his eyes frantically darted around the emptiness.

Was this inside of his head? His subconscious?

Ashi had made mention that Sora needed to look inside of himself to find the source of his magic. Maybe he dove too far and found himself lost, scared, and alone. His terror was beginning to creep into every pore of his body. His feet felt heavy, his body trembling and his heart racing within his chest. Forcing his body to move, Sora raised his hands to his mouth.

“Hello?!” He shouted as loud as he could. There was no response to his cry, only the echoing of his voice ringing in his ears. Despite how his feet felt like lead weights, Sora willed them to move forward as he started to run, trying to find any _thing_ that would rid him of this eerie darkness.

Sora ran for what felt like miles upon miles, his voice crying out as he moved. “Hello?! Is anyone there?!” Over and over again. There was no answer, no response; no end to this eternal darkness. Realizing that there wasn’t anyone, or anything here, Sora gave up his search and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily as he continued to stare into the vast emptiness of it all.

“Riku…Kairi…? Ashi?!” Sora cried out again, lifting his head up, “Is anyone there…?!”

Sora continued to look frantically around him. There was nothing but the still darkness that echoed around him, the sound of his voice eventually dying off and disappearing into the silence.

Just as panic and terror began to take over his mind, a deep, threatening, evil laugh rang through the air. Sora sprung to his feet and looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Nothing could be seen…just like it always was in this place.

“Who’s there?!”

“You _really_ don't know, do you?” The sinister voice echoed from all around him. “Hah! How can you not _know_ your own _heart_?”

“Who are you?!” Sora demanded. “What do you want from me? What do you mean, my own heart?!”

Another cackle, “What's yours is mine. Keep digging deeper, and _maybe_ you'll find out.” Sora grit his teeth and, suddenly, the Keyblade appeared in his hands. The voice cackled again, “You really think _that_ will help? Please! You can't even _find_ me in this mess!” Sora grunted and began to swing the Keyblade frantically around him, while the voice continued to snicker at him.

“Don't listen to him, Sora!” Another voice called out; this one softer and kinder. It felt almost...familiar. Like he had heard it somewhere before. “Believe in the light in your heart! You can do it, I _know_ you can!”

“Who--” Sora looked around frantically, but still didn't see anyone. Despite the encouraging words from the second voice, the first still continued to taunt him. Fear and unease continued to flood through him, unsure of what to think or feel right now.

“Don’t be afraid, Sora.” Came a familiar voice.

“…Kairi?!” Sora exclaimed as he hopped up to his feet, looking around to try and see his long-lost friend, only to find nothing but more of those creatures, withering away from him. “Where are you?!”

“I’m a lot closer then you think I am.” Kairi’s voice responded with a giggle, “Don’t worry, Sora! I know you can do it. We both do!” Both? Who else was she talking about? “I’m right here beside you. Just have faith!”

Even though Sora could not see Kairi, he could feel her there. Where “there” was he wasn’t quite sure, but hearing her voice again gave him confidence. A grin formed across his face as he twirled his Keyblade within his hands. He could do this! With a yell, he charged into the hoard of the shadow monsters and began to clear a path straight through them. His confidence grew with every attack, with every whirl of his weapon, with every strike he landed upon the creatures. Somehow, hearing Kairi’s voice encourage him was more then enough to give Sora the faith within himself to take on an entire army of these things!

As he drew closer and closer towards the weird symbol, Sora felt something begin to burn inside of him. It was hot, but it wasn’t painful. An image began to focus itself within his mind. Somehow, he was able to make it into a form, and form it from a thought into reality. Holding his free hand out, Sora gave it a wave as a cyclone of fire swirled out from his outstretched palm, consuming the monsters and returning them to the darkness from where they came. Sora had little time to dwell upon what he had just done, as the monsters kept on coming at him from all directions.

The symbol grew closer and closer as Sora weeded out the creatures, one by one. As he did, a familiar voice softly spoke into his mind, but it was not the voice of Kairi or the others. It was someone else, gentle and warm, and the voice made him feel safe, somehow.

“ _Keep your Light burning strong,_ ” The voice whispered softly, “ _And you will be able to vanquish the Darkness._ ”

It was the same voice he kept on hearing in his dreams. It kept telling him to keep going on, to keep strong, and to not fear of the unknown or the darkness. He had no idea who the voice belonged to, but it brought comfort and shelter to him. Even when all of these monsters where attacking him, Sora felt secure and didn’t have any fear. Both this mysterious voice, and Kairi’s, encouraged him to keep fighting despite the darkness growing stronger every moment.

Reaching the strange symbol that floated in the air, Sora twisted his Keyblade around and pointed it before him. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, exactly, that he was doing…it was just some kind of an _instinct_ of sort. Light began to gather around the weapon and shot out of the tip, striking the darkness. Cracks of light began to form their way across the vast emptiness, the light pouring through the darkness as it spider webbed its way across it. Suddenly, the area around him exploded like glass, revealing a blinding light...and another symbol he barely caught a glimpse of.

Sora shielded his eyes from the light, but found it not so much blinding as it was enveloping him within its warmth. Somehow, he felt _connected_ to it, connected to the symbol that had appeared under the red-colored one.

Once again, the unknown voice spoke into his mind.

 

“ _As long as you remember your Light…the Darkness cannot hurt you._ ”  
  
~~~~~

 

That white light began to bleed away into normal lighting, Sora’s gaze was focused slightly upwards, towards a tuft of purple hair...he groaned and reached his hands up to rub his eyes. What happened?

“Sora?”

It took Sora a few moments to realize that someone had called out his name, and it was an unfamiliar voice…and to realize where he was, exactly. Glancing off towards the origin of the voice, he saw Ashi kneeling before him, her eyes still as focused as they were before. Blinking his eyes, Sora’s memories decided to return to him. Oh right. His Island was gone, and now he was with Ashi.

“Hey.” He managed to crack a smile, despite his drowsy state.

“Are you alright?” Ashi asked, giving his shoulders a squeeze. “You faded out on me for a minute there. I was...concerned.”

“Uh…” Sora blinked his eyes a few more times, feeling somehow embarrassed with the situation all of the sudden. Ashi was concerned about him? But they just met! Why would she be concerned for a complete stranger? Rubbing his eyes, trying to hid his embarrassment, he nodded his head quickly. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. I just had a weird dream, that’s all…”

“Do you remember what happened in your dream?”

“…Huh?” Sora inquired, somewhat taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

“Your dream you just had,” Ashi continued, “Dreams are very important. A lot of people don’t realize this…but those with powerful destinies often dream of things that have some kind of meaning, or a purpose. If you are as special as that Key shows you are…it could help us in the long run.”

“Well…” Sora began as he tapped his chin, “It was really dark, and I was all alone. And then, this voice started talking to me..." However, Sora stopped talking all of the sudden as Ashi’s hand raised up, silencing him. “…Ashi?”

“Damn…” She muttered as she pushed herself off of the floor, grabbing her Naginata, “I thought we would be safe in here! They don't usually attack the Inn – we need to get outside, it's too cramped in here to fight!”

Sora gave a nod of his head and charged down the hall and out the main door, his Keyblade appearing in his hand. Not a second later, he heard Ashi shout and the sound of those monsters disappearing into black mist followed. She chased after him as they quickly exited the hotel, leading them back into the district they had just been in. Sure enough, even more of the buggers were popping up left and right! Did it ever end?!

Ashi quickly exited onto the street as well, her Naginata swirling and thrusting about her in a rapid flurry, hacking and slashing away at the little buggers like no tomorrow. Sora quickly followed suit, burying his Keyblade into the head of one of the Heartless. Whatever it was that was causing them to form was strong, and it didn’t show any signs of stopping anytime soon. However, Sora was still groggy from whatever-the-hell had happened to him, and his fatigue was quickly beginning to show its head.

He began to pant as his swings became less and less accurate, often swinging right through open air and missing the monsters completely, or just grazing against their shadowy skin. Sora’s focus began to shift a bit too, making everything appear in some kind of a blur. Even his arms began to feel like jelly, barely able to keep swinging the Keyblade around.

“Ugh…” Sora raised one of his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes. However, in this moment to try and wake himself, a creature lunged at him and nearly knocked him to the side, though he was able to just barely dodge it. “Whoa…!” Ashi quickly snapped around and drove the blade of her weapon through the offending monster, disbursing it into darkness.

“Sora, you have to wake up!” Ashi shouted over at him, her blade twirling within her hands and slashing at more of the offending monsters.

Shaking his head rapidly, Sora closed his eyes and rubbed them to try and get them to stay focused, and in his mind he saw that strange symbol from his dream; the one surrounded by light. Once again, he felt that strange warmth burning within his chest, that thought and meaning that he had experienced before. Opening his eyes again, he focused his thought into physical being, releasing another cyclone of flame from his outstretched hand. The fire engulfed the monsters directly in front of them, the smoke of the flame mixing with the dark energy that they released when they died.

With a few more slashes from Ashi’s weapon, the remainder of the Heartless had been reduced to nothing more then wisps of smoke. She quickly turned her head towards Sora and tilted her head, resting her Naginata against her shoulder.

“Sora…you just used magic.” She commented. Sora blinked his eyes and looked at his hand, glancing up at her again with a shocked expression. “I didn’t even need to teach you…it was just inside of you.”

“I-I guess?” Sora blinked again and lowered his hand down, “I used it in that dream, too. I don’t know how it happened…just, I felt a warmth inside of me and I was able to make it real.”

“Perhaps…” Ashi sounded thoughtful for a moment, as if she was going to say something profound, but stopped halfway.

“Perhaps?”

Ashi shook her head, “Nevermind. We should head to the First District, it's safe there and we might run into the others.” She looked towards the gate and began walking towards it. She twisted her Naginata off of her shoulder and into a ready position, should Heartless spring up again. Sora gave a nod of his head and hurried after the much taller woman. There had been a few mentions of these mysterious...comrades? Of Ashi's, but she hadn't elaborated.

“Say, Ashi…”

“Yes?” She glanced slightly over her shoulder and down towards Sora.

“You keep mentioning something about companions or comrades or something…who are they, anyway?” The question was genuine and whole; Sora was very curious about who these enigmatic people happened to be. Ashi sighed and looked ahead.

“When my world was destroyed, I found myself here,” She explained without emotion in her voice, like it wasn't anything that her home was gone, “It's...very different from where I come from. And I'm not the only wayward soul here – there are others, their worlds also destroyed by the Heartless. They found me and taught me about them and your Keyblade...well, at least a little bit.” She sighed and shook her head, “I still don't understand it entirely, but they knew I could fight and could help the people here. Plus with my ability to sense darkness in anything, including the Heartless, has proven valuable as well.” Ashi stopped walking and looked down at Sora with her cold, pale eyes. “I _do_ know that the weapon you wield is important and powerful. Though it is not my intention when I first arrived, I have made it my duty to find and protect whoever it has chosen.”

“Wow...” Sora breathed by her brief explanation of how she got here, and that her companions were other people like them. It made him feel relieved to be in good company, and also gave him hope that Riku and Kairi were out there, somewhere.

However, before they could enter the first district, Ashi stopped when the doors opened. Out walked a young man with an obvious obsession with black leather, with messy shoulder-length brown hair. In his hand he carried a sword with a handle that looked like an old revolver. He lifted his eyes up and stopped when he spotted them.

“Leon.” Ashi breathed, jogging over towards him. “Thank Amaterasu you're here.”

The man, Leon, only gave a small nod of his head in greeting, before his eyes jerked down towards Sora. “Whose this?”

“He's another lost soul, like us,” Ashi explained, “I've been trying to find you and the others, but you weren't at the inn.” Leon looked back towards Ashi. Sora briefly wondered if they could have a “fridged gaze stare-off” contest, and if the room they were in would _actually_ freeze over.

“I'm Sora!” He introduced himself to Leon, who looked down at him with the same cold stare. _Yikes_ , maybe Leon _was_ worse then Ashi... “Um...”

“Leon, he's the Key.” At that phrase, Leon's eyes jerked away from Sora and met Ashi's gaze again, his brows raising and his mouth going slack. “He has the Keyblade, I've seen it with my own eyes.” Leon looked back and forth between Ashi and Sora rapidly while she spoke, “I know he's young and is a bit scrawny--”

“ _Hey!_ ” Sora interjected, but Ashi paid him no mind.

“--But I think he has some merit. He's already learned magic with only basic instructions, and he has _dreams_.” Leon's mouth snapped closed and his jaw tightened, Sora shrinking back from his intense, icy gaze. “With some time, we should be able to get him strong enough to take on--”

“The Keyblade chose _him?_ ” Leon snapped, his voice turning as cold as his eyes. “He's just a kid!”

Ashi glared at him, “I _know that_ , Leon. But we can't help what the Gods chose and what Fate decrees.”

Leon grit his teeth. “To think it chose _him_...” Suddenly, he swung his gunblade out and glared at Sora, who recoiled from the gesture.

 

“…It would be best…if you handed the Keyblade over to me.”

 

 


	2. Start of a Legend

 

“…It would be best…if you handed it over to me.”

 

Sora narrowed his eyes at Leon and his demand, holding his Keyblade tightly.

“Why should I?!” He demanded in a harsh tone, not liking the way this man was looking at him. Why was he so defensive over a weapon he had no idea what the purpose was of it?

“It’s for the best.” The man responded in a simple, yet curt tone. “Now, hand it over.” It was clear that he wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Leon, what in the _Gods_ name are you doing?!” Ashi retorted, falling into a ready position. Leon ignore her and continued to glare at Sora.

“No way!” Sora shouted, gritting his teeth together. He, too, wasn’t going to give up, regardless of how insistent this jerk was! And it looked like he was going to resort to brute force and _pry_ it away from Sora, as he twisted his Gunblade in his hands and lifted it up to attack. Well, bring it on!

Ashi slid in front of Sora and caught the Gunblade on the shaft of her Naginata, lowering one shoulder so the blade slid down to the ground below. “Leon, what's wrong with you?” She shouted, swinging her Naginata out and catching the offending blade against it again.

“The Keyblade is _dangerous_ , Ashino!” Leon hissed, twisting the Gunblade in his hands and roughly hitting her in the stomach with the pommel of it. She staggered backward, staring at him with a bewildered expression. He gritted his teeth and shot his intense gaze at Sora. “ _Especially_ in the hands of someone as young and _inexperienced_ as him!”

“Hey!” Sora shouted, but quickly let out a squawk and rolled out of the way of an incoming fireball from Leon's hand. He clenched his hands around the Gunblade and glared at Sora, who readied himself in turn.

Ashi was about to charge after Leon, but stopped when another figure leaped down from the rooftops before her. She reeled backwards and narrowed her eyes.

Standing before her was a spunky looking young man with messy brown hair, dressed in the most _outlandish_ clothing Sora had ever seen before in his life! But, he was distracted by the fact this guy was literally armed to the _teeth_ , having multiple weapons strapped to his back. He titlted his head and grinned at Ashi.

“Now now, you know we're just doing this for the kid's own good!” The young man chided, Ashi gritting her teeth.

“I thought we were just going to get the wielder someplace safe, Bartz!”

“Yeah, well...” The man, Bartz, sighed and scratched his head. “Plans change! Ya'know how it is, Ashino.” He grinned and then spoke in a eerily similar voice to hers: “'You can never predict the tides of war!'” He snickered and switched back to his normal voice, “ _Right?_ ”

What the heck was this guys deal?

Sora didn't get a chance to think about it. Bartz did a leap backwards and drew a bow from his back and began to fire arrows at Ashi. “Ashi!!” He cried out, trying to get to her before the arrows hit.

But...well, he had his own problems.

He only caught the flash of steel out of the corners of his eyes just in time to barely bring his Keyblade up and defend against it. There was a loud clash of metal against metal, sparks flying off of their offending blades. Sora gritted his teeth as his arms began to quiver against the strain, as this man was much larger, much stronger, and better skilled then he was. Sora began to feel his feet give out slightly behind him, pushing him back.

“Why were you chosen?” The young man hissed in a cold, emotionless voice, “You’re just a _kid_!”

“So what if I’m a kid?!” Sora snapped back, managing to gather enough strength to shove the man’s weapon off of his own. The man slashed at him again, Sora managing to catch and parry his blade away again, but only just barely. He gritted his teeth towards the taller man. “And how should I know? I don’t even know what this thing _is_!”

“More of a reason why you shouldn’t have it!” The man shouted, slicing his blade downwards again. He managed to cut into Sora’s knuckles on one of his hands, causing the boy to hiss loudly in pain and drop his hand to the side, but keeping his other hand firm against the hilt of his Keyblade. He was caught off guard for the next attack, as the man twisted his weapon around and hit Sora across the side of his head with the broad side of the Gunblade.

Sora found himself toppling off to the side in shock, the world spinning around him and moving as if he was in slow-motion. His body twisted around and landed hard on his back. Despite the initial blow to his head, Sora still gripped the Keyblade firmly within his hands. He groaned loudly and tried to right himself, and quickly discovered that this man wasn’t content to just leave him there. Sora found the blade coming down towards him again, and managed to roll out of the away just in time. He heard the sword hit against the cobble stone ground below him, and pushed himself up to his feet with some effort, and faced the offending man.

“Look, it was _given_ to me!” Sora shouted over at Mr. Broody-Pants, glaring in his direction. “I don’t know why or how, but I’m not going to give it to you!” Shouting loudly, he swung his Keyblade out in a wide arc towards the man, who quickly dodged out of the way. With no way to recover from his lunge, he felt the young man’s elbow contact with Sora’s spine, knocking the wind right out of him and sending him face-down into the ground again.

This time, the Keyblade slipped away from his fingers and skidded across the ground.

“No--!” Sora gasped, trying to gather his bearings to grab the weapon again. But, he was unable to move as the man placed his foot firmly between Sora’s shoulders, and he felt the cold, hard tip of the man’s Gunblade against the nape of his neck.

“Give it up. You’re no match for me, kid.” Realizing that he was defeated, Sora stopped moving and relaxed against the ground. He sighed angrily and closed his eyes, balling his hands into fists. He hated to admit it, but this guy was way better then he was. Maybe even better then _Riku_.

< _…Riku…_ > Sora found himself thinking of his friend at this moment, < _Where are you? How would you have handled something like this? I’m too weak to know what to do…_ >

 

Ashi, herself, was having issues. Bartz was keeping his distance from her with his long-range weapon and the occasional spell. Given how she had a mid-ranged pole-arm, he had an advantage over her. And was doing a damn good job at being distracting! His aim wasn't accurate; he wasn't fighting to beat her. But, he knew enough about her battle style to know _exactly_ how to annoy her.

Bastard was damn good at learning people's movements. He was a dangerous foe to face due to this, but a valuable ally to have otherwise.

But, she wasn’t defeated yet. While she was dealing with this nuisance, Ashi kept glancing, out of the corners of her eyes, to make sure that Sora was alright. When she saw him knocked to the ground, her instincts kicked in, and she had to deal with Bartz if Sora was to walk away from this.

Lowering her Naginata from an offensive position, she quickly unsheathed her Wakazashi and chucked it at Bartz. “Mimic this!” She shouted. The young man avoided it narrowly, but it was only a spectral form of the dagger. She kept throwing the astral copies of her dagger at him, predicting his movements before throwing her actual Wakazashi at him. Bartz couldn't avoid the dagger in time, which struck him in his drawing hand and burying itself in his flesh. He let out a cry of pain and doubled over, but she didn't pay him any mind.

Ashi wasted no time to come to Sora’s aid. Thrusting the butt of her weapon into the ground, she used it like a pole vault and hurled herself through the air with a battle cry. It was just enough to cause Leon to turn in her direction, just as both of her feet made solid contact with his chest. He was knocked off of Sora and sent cascading through the air. He managed to recover himself, flipping in the air and landed on the ground, facing them. He skidded across the stone paths with one hand against the ground, the other holding his Gunblade behind him.

Ashi quickly helped Sora to his feet. “Are you alright?” She inquired while he hastily grabbed his Keyblade. He nodded his head in response, looking up at Ashi and grinned.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Sora chirped, beaming brightly at his new friend, “That was really awesome, what you did, Ashi!”

“Thanks, but we need to focus.” She responded sharply, causing Sora to drop his grin and his head to droop a bit. But, well…she did have a point. They had to work together to defeat Broody McGee! Holding his Keyblade firmly within his hands, Sora gave a nod towards Ashi and they rushed together towards Leon, who was now standing upright again.

All seriousness aside, Ashi was a damn good ally to have in combat. As if the previous times fighting those weird shadow creatures weren’t enough to say this, it was clear right now. Between the two of them, Sora and Ashi were giving this broody man a run for his money. She would slash, he would parry, and Sora would catch him while he was parrying; or vice-versa. They were driving him back rather easily, and Sora made a mental note to ask Ashi for some serious lessons after this.

He was amazed at how well they worked together. It was almost like they had been fighting together all their lives; like a well-oiled machine, almost. Ashi and Sora read off of each other’s moves very well and made accurate predictions to what the other was doing, and formulating the best strategy of attack from there. Or, maybe it was just Ashi’s sheer knowledge of combat that she was able to read Sora’s movements, and he was only _assuming_ that he was following her lead, too. But there was little time to think, especially when Ashi successfully disarmed the man with her weapon, tossing his Gunblade aside. He soon found two pairs of blades pointing at him.

“We’ve got you outmatched,” Ashi informed coldly, with Sora nodding in response to her claim.

“Yeah, right!” Bartz came in, holding Ashi's dagger in his hand. The wound on his opposite hand had been healed. Ashi forgot he could _heal_ too. Why was he so damn good at mimicking everything? “We need to get the Keyblade away from him!”

“It would be nice if you'd say _why!_ ” Ashi retorted, glaring up at Bartz.

“Just give it up, and then you can rest easily.” Leon stated.

“No way!” Sora shouted.

Ashi grit her teeth and tightened her hold on her Naginata. “I won't let you hurt him, either of you! He's just a child, _not_ a warrior!”

“Then if you won't let us do what's _right,_ you'll have to defeat us.” Leon snorted, and Ashi only narrowed her eyes in response to this statement, lifting her Naginata up into a readied position, and he did the same. All four players squared off with each other, neither side willing to give up.

“ _Stop this at once_!”

All four heads turned in direction of the hotel to the side of the square they were fighting in, seeing a young woman – about Ashi’s age, if not a little older – with wispy shoulder-length brown hair and elegant looking clothing that was somewhat similar to Ashi's. Where they from the same world. Her split eyes, one green and one blue, looked down at the group with both anger and disdain.

“Yuna?” Bartz gasped, staring up at her.

“We all should be fighting the _Heartless_ , not each other!” The woman scolded.

“But he’s not going to give us the Key!” Bartz protested with a whine and a stamp of her foot.

“And she insists on _defending_ him.” The man explained, shooting a cold glare over towards Ashi, who returned his glare.

“They attacked first.” Ashi added.

“It doesn’t matter.” The young woman said, still in a scolding tone of voice, her brows furrowed, “Our enemy is _not_ them, but the darkness that lurks around in every corner.”

For a moment, the trio looked at each other. Ashi kept her cool gaze fixed on Leon, who looked between her and Bartz. Bartz sighed and scratched his head, glancing up at the woman on the balcony and nodding.

“C'mon, man. It's obvious we're not going to get them to give up.” He muttered.

“Yuna-san is right,” Ashi added calmly, “We shouldn't be trying to kill each other over this.” Leon raised his hand to his scar.

“…Fine.” He grumbled in a rather sour tone. With a nod of his head, Bartz replaced his bow on his back. Ashi also lowered her weapon from a ready position, the tall brunette handing over her Wakazashi.

“We better listen to what Yuna says,” Bartz informed, “She knows more about this then we do!” With that, he began to trot up the stairwell leading to the balcony over-looking them. Leon, begrudgingly, followed after.

Ashi looked down at Sora and sighed. “It's alright, Sora. We can trust her.”

Sora looked between the woman with two colored eyes, and Ashi. “W-well...if we don't need to keep fighting them...”

“We don't.” Ashi assured with a small nod of her head, her gaze softening. “Yuna-san is very kind, and knowledgeable. We'll be safe with her, and she can explain things better then I.”

Sora nodded. “Okay.” The Keyblade vanished from his hands.

Ashi began to walk up the stairs, Sora following after. She pursed her lips. “...I'm...sorry they attacked.” She said awkwardly, keeping her gaze away from him.

Sora blinked, “Wh-what...?”

“I'm sorry.” She muttered again, still keeping her gaze away from him. “I did not think that Leon would attack you. I don't understand why, even now.” She sighed and looked down at him, her gaze almost apologetic. “They shouldn't have done that. Their behavior was uncalled for. If they were my men, they would be severely punished.”

“Um...” Sora blinked, unsure how to react to this. Ashi didn't seem like the type to...well, honestly; he barely _knew_ her. It was a little unsettling hearing the last bit of her comment, but he knew she was trying to reassure him in her own way. Still, he flashed a reassuring smile at her. “W-well, you can't predict what other people will do!” He reached up and patted her on the back. She raised a brow at the gesture, but didn't react otherwise. “But, thanks for helping me.”

A faint, ghost of a smile.

“I told you already, Sora. I made it my duty to protect the one who wields the Keyblade.”

 

-~-~-~-

 

A few moments later, the woman lead the group into a red room, the same room Ashino had lead Sora to earlier. Once everyone was inside, Yuna closed the door and walked to the center of the room, clasping her hands before her. Softly, she began to chant as a glowing circle of magical power formed below her feet, tracing its way around her and pulsating with energy. As she did so, the glyphs lining the room flashed and lit up, then released energy between them, forming an iridescent barrier around the room. The shield faded slightly as the woman lowered her hands and the magical glyph below her feet vanished.

“Now the Heartless can not hurt us.”

“We had everything under control, Yuna,” Leon hissed as he walked to one corner of the room, resting his blade against the barrier. He rested his shoulder against it and crossed his arms.

“You took it to the extreme, Squall!” Yuna retorted, glaring at him.

He sneered, “I told you to _stop calling_ me that, Yuna.”

“Hiding your true name will not allow you to run from the past.” Yuna’s tone was still fierce as she spoke. Leon only lifted his hand up to his face again in response. Sighing softly, she turned to Ashi and Sora. Yuna bowed gently at her waist and rose back up. “Please excuse my friends. I am Yuna, a High Summoner from a different world. This is Squa-- I mean, _Leon_ , and Bartz. They also come from my world.” She nodded towards Ashi. “I believe you have already met Ashino, who hails from a different world then we do.”

“Well, nice to meet you, now that we ain't trying to fight you anymore,” Bartz flashed a sidelong grin, folding his arms behind his head. He looked towards Sora. “So…what’s your name?”

“Oh, me?” Sora blinked, then smiled, “I’m Sora.” Ashi had placed her Naginata against the wall and stood behind him with her arms folded, almost like some kind of watch dog. It was a little creepy.

“Very pleased to meet you,” Yuna said gently, bowing at her waist, “I am sorry for the way Leon and Bartz treated you, as it wasn’t their true intentions to bring you any harm.”

“Hey, it’s no problem!” Sora smiled, “Say…why _were_ you guys attacking me, anyway?”

“Because you have the Key.” Leon commented sharply. The curt response caused the hair on the back of Sora’s neck to bristle, shooting a glare towards the older man. He didn’t need to be so _rude_ about it! Leon kept his facial expression the same, which only infuriated Sora more. It took a hand upon his shoulder from Ashi to bring Sora back to the real world, seeing her hard face.

“Eh?” Sora blinked, taking a moment to remember what was going on. “Oh.” Lifting his hand out, he called forth the Keyblade out, curling his fingers around the hilt and eyeing it with curiosity. “You mean this thing? What is it, anyway?”

“The Key is the most important item within the universe,” Yuna explained, “It chooses its own master, a being with the strongest Heart in all the worlds combined, and holds untold power that even I do not know the full meaning of. It, alone, has the power to truly defeat the Heartless and drive the Darkness back into its fold.”

Sora blinked his eyes and lifted the weapon up, examining it. It didn’t look like anything special, just an oversized key that could be used like some kind of club, or something. He shook it in his hands and it didn’t do anything but shake. Nothing special, right? “This thing is really that important?” He questioned, lifting his gaze up to Yuna again.

“You bet your butt it is,” Bartz smirked, still acting casual about this whole thing. Yuna nodded as well.

“Indeed.” She added.

“But…it chooses its own master? Why did it choose me?” Sora inquired, his gaze towards Yuna with a confused expression. She seemed to pick up on this, giving a gentle shake of her head.

“As I have said, it chooses a being whose Heart is strong and pure,” Yuna explained, “Even I don’t know what qualifies that, but you must hold far more power then you think, Sora. Whenever Darkness comes to consume all of the Worlds, the Keyblade appears and chooses who will wield it to drive the Darkness back. But, because the Key is so powerful, those who wield it find that Darkness is drawn _to_ them. Beings of shadow and darkness seek the one who can destroy them, in hopes to defeat them first.”

“We were trying to get it _away_ from you, Sora.” Bartz said. In that moment, his casual and relaxed air became serious, staring at Sora with intense eyes. “It was for your own safety.”

“Coulda' said so in the first place,” Sora mumbled as an aside.

“I do not understand why I was not told this,” Ashi snapped, her pale blue eyes narrowing. “If I had known, I would have stayed in here with him, until you returned.”

“We didn't think you'd find him,” Leon grumbled. He put his hand over his scar, as if to hide from Ashi's pointed gaze.

“Still no reason to _attack_ the boy.”

“Indeed,” Yuna added to Ashino's sentiment. “But, what's done is done. I do hope you can forgive them Sora. Their intentions were good, though their actions were wrong.”

Sora sighed and looked at the giant key in his hand. “Well…I guess if it puts me in danger…” He mumbled, glancing up at Leon in his emo-corner. Twisting the Keyblade around, he held the hilt out for Leon to grab. “Go ahead! I had no idea what this thing was or what it did.”

Leon pushed himself from the wall and approached Sora, reaching out for the Keyblade. He hesitated for a moment, realizing how great this gift was and it’s importance; but remained vigilant and grasped it within his own hands. He studied the weapon, also wondering what made it so special, but he did not get long to see it. Less then ten seconds of holding it, the Keyblade vanished within a burst of light and re-appeared in Sora’s hands. Leon sighed unhappily, resuming his usual oh-so-angsty pose.

“I suppose you’re going to tell me ‘I told you so,’ Yuna.”

“It appears as if the Keyblade has already chosen,” Yuna informed, “No one but Sora can wield it, for he is the one and only Keyblade Master. He alone has the power to defeat the Darkness and restore Light to the cosmos once again.”

Sora once again blinked in disbelief, glancing at the Keyblade, then looking up to Yuna with a shocked expression. “Me?” Why was it that he had the power to wield the Keyblade and do all of this really important stuff? He was just a 14 year old boy! He hardly had any combat training on his Island, he never even _knew_ that other worlds existed beyond his Island until today! Why did he become this legendary Keyblade Master? It just didn’t make sense!

Sora was jostled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder once again. Slowly, he looked up to Ashi, who looked down into his bright blue eyes with her pale ones. It wasn't sharp or forceful, but confident and assured. Saying that he could do this, and needed to believe in himself. In that one glance, his resolve solidified, his questioning vanished as he saw her expression. For that moment, Sora couldn’t tear his eyes from hers.

“You cannot question Destiny,” Ashi said softly, then looked up to the trio surrounding them, “For Destiny has a way of choosing you. Somehow, you were given this responsibility, Sora.” She returned her gaze to him, “You should trust in yourself and the Gods for giving you this responsibility. I’m sure there is a good reason for why you were given this task alone.”

“And hey, you won't be going this alone, right?” Bartz grinned, putting his hands on his hips. “You've got us on your side, and Ashino too!”

Sora looked down at the Keyblade within his hands. Once again, he examined this seemingly ordinary piece of metal that felt somehow…warm between his fingers. Closing his eyes, he remembered what the voice had told him in his dreams: He was the one to open the door…and the Darkness could not hurt him if he kept a hold of his Light. Maybe there _was_ a reason why he was the Keyblade Master, he would just have to _find_ what that reason was, somehow.

Slowly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. “Okay.” He said, his voice strong and determined, “I’ll just have to deal with the Darkness coming at me, and strike through it! It can’t scare me.” He remembered that, moments before his Island disappeared, Riku told Sora that the Darkness didn’t scare him. Sora would just have to face it as well! He _could_ be strong, just like Riku!

Ashi released her hand from Sora’s shoulder and glanced over at Yuna. “Yuna, I will be going with Sora on his journey to save the Worlds from the darkness.”

Yuna's brows furrowed. “Are you sure, Ashino? I know that this isn't your fight.”

“It became my fight when my world was devoured by those creatures,” Ashi snapped, her voice cold. “If Sora can prevent other worlds being consumed, if he can stop senseless wars...then I am with him, whatever it takes and wherever it takes me.”

“I see.” Yuna gave her a small smile. “I understand, and I'm sure Sora wouldn't mind the company.”

Sora looked up at Ashi, who gave him a small nod of her head. “W-well...” He didn't know much about her. She was fierce in combat and seemed to be no-nonsense, but had a softer side to her. But she was a great fighter, so having her along wouldn't hurt! “I...I could use some help, honestly.” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“I will train you, of course.” Ashino responded, giving him a half-smile. “I trained my father's men back home, so I am quite qualified.”

“T-thanks...!” Sora found himself smiling too. However, he remembered another important thing. “So what about the Heartless, then?” Yuna gave a soft chuckle, though her face became serious moments later.

“The Heartless are just what their name implies; beings without Hearts.” She informed, and upon witnessing the puzzled expression on Sora’s face, she chuckled softly and continued. “Every being across all Worlds has a Heart, which is their entire essence. It is where their soul, their memories, their personality, and their powers come from. Without a Heart, you are nothing, a _nobody_ in the end, your body changing form into that of pure Darkness. Those without a Heart are called Heartless, beings of the shadow that seek out the Darkness within others Hearts. It is the Darkness that attracts them; but they are also drawn to the Light given off by your Keyblade, Sora, because it means their doom should you live. I cannot say how many of them truly exist and how many worlds they have infested, but they are a massive threat.

“The world that we come from had a wise Sage known as Ansem who performed extensive research upon the Heartless.” Yuna went on to continue, “We only know enough to defend ourselves, but the amount he written down is said to be phenomenal in its context. Perhaps if you could find it, you could learn far more about the Heartless then what we know.”

“So where is it?” Sora asked, curious about the report.

“Our World got destroyed,” Bartz sighed, scratching his head, “Just like yours did, I’m sure. The report was lost when our world got destroyed! It's all scattered across the universe, so lord _knows_ where it all is.”

“We do have one page,” Yuna added on, “It’s not much, but it does inform you about Worlds.” Reaching into her long sleeve, Yuna withdrew a sheet of paper and walked over to Sora, handing it to him. “Each World has a Door that connects it to other Worlds. If this door is opened, it allows for travel between Worlds…but also allows for the Heartless to come into it. Should the Heartless completely over-run a world…it leads to its ultimate destruction…” Her face grew grave and her voice pain-filled as she said this, “…Just like ours.”

For a moment, Sora looked down to the floor as well. All of this talk of the Heartless and the destruction of Worlds hit hard for him, given that his _own_ disappeared just yesterday. Just then, he could have been running on the beaches, play-fighting with his friends, watching the sunset with Kairi and Riku…sailing off over the horizon for new adventure. Now it wouldn’t happen again. But...he had to move on. There were many other worlds out there, in danger, just like his own!

And he had to find his friends!

Sora lifted his head up, a look of pure determination on his face. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep that from happening again!” He declared, “I promise, I’ll take on the Heartless and defeat the Darkness and save _all_ of the Worlds out there plagued by them!” And maybe, just maybe, he could find his friends again! Somewhere, he just _knew_ that they were out there, waiting for him! This little set-back wouldn’t stop him!

However, this little heroic stature of his dropped when something began to claw against the front door of the room they were in. Yuna gasped as she looked over to the door, seeing that the Heartless where beginning to claw their way through, bursting through the door and putting pressure on her barrier. Instantly, Leon drew his weapon, while Bartz stood at the ready, waiting to see what would pop out. Ashi quickly grabbed her Naginata and stood defensivly before Sora, and Yuna called forth an elegant staff.

“This barrier will not last long against a full-on attack!” She shouted, gesturing towards the untouched back door, “We need to get out of here before the Heartless swamp us!” With a flick of her wrist, she called the barrier down over a door in the back of the room and quickly rushed to it, flinging it open. “Quickly!”

The group quickly fled from the room and landed into the back-ally behind them, which was already quickly-filling with Heartless. Sora gritted his teeth together. Were they all just appearing because of _him_? Was this all his fault?

_No!_

He couldn’t think like that! Sora took in his self-guilt and landed on the ground below, swinging his Keyblade around in a wide circle and taking out a group of Heartless in one blow. He would just have to do what he said; cleave through the Darkness and put an end to this! He was determined to succeed!

More over, several other forms of Heartless were appearing besides the shadow-bug like things. Sure, they were still shadowy-looking, but they were coming in all kinds of varieties now! Some of them wore armor, others were different-colored in red, blue and green, which began to cast magic spells across the field; and even huge ones that looked like they could _eat_ Sora for dinner!

Ashi landed beside Sora and lifted her Naginata up, releasing a wave of orange-and-purple flame from it and destroying a group of Heartless before her. “There are more of them then ever…” She said sternly, her face intense and focused.

Leon and Bartz began their own side of the battle as well; Leon slashed and hacked away at the Heartless with his Gunblade and occasionally cast fire-based magic from time to time. Bartz adapted his combat style depending on who he faced, using his wide array of weapons and magical talents. Yuna appeared to be a more supportive character, casting a shield around herself while she released bolts of pure white energy around her, easily disbursing the Heartless.

“It’s no use!” Leon shouted over the chaos, “We’ll need to find their leader to get the numbers down! They’ll keep on increasing until it’s defeated!”

“But how do we get past…?!” Sora exclaimed, swinging his Keyblade around and cutting into the Heartless before him. Already, he could feel the fatigue setting in once again, a painful reminder that he was not ready for such intense battles.

“Allow me to clear a path.” Yuna clasped her hands in front of her and began to perform several flowing arm-movements, whispering below her breath. The skies above Traverse Town began to darken and the ground began to rumble as several magical glyphs appeared in the heavens. Diving down from the clouds and bursting through the glyphs came a mighty dragon, adorned in multi-colored feathers, who landed beside Yuna. Sora gawked, finding himself staring at a _literal dragon._ “Please Bahamut, clear a path for us!”

The dragon hunched over onto its front legs and a large wheel upon its back began to spin rapidly. Ashi glanced behind her and grabbed onto Sora’s shoulder, gesturing for them to get back behind the dragon. Sora gave a nod in agreement, not really wanting to stand in the way of whatever-the-heck the summon was charging, and hurried back with the others.

Opening its mouth, the dragon released a massive beam of prism-colored energy, tearing through all of the Heartless within its wake, and quite a bit of the ground and sides of the ally way in an incredibly impressive, powerful, and very very destructive display. Sora was only left to gape in wonder as he saw the dragon blow everything to hell and back, and quite effectively, too.

“Quickly!” Yuna urged as the attack died down, leaving the path clear, “Sora, Ashino, you must continue on! We will take care of things here.”

“But--" Sora was about to protest, but noted the intensity of Yuna’s expression. He quickly shut his mouth and nodded his head. He took off past the path that the dragon had cleared for them, quickly slashing his Keyblade out to knock off a newly-spawned Heartless as he and Ashino left the ally way and into a different section of town. It was filled with bright lights and, much like the other areas of the town, it was completely deserted.

Not even any Heartless were lurking around; just the ones springing up in the ally they left behind, fended off by Leon, Bartz and Yuna to prevent them from getting to Ashi and Sora.

To this, Sora glanced around the oddly-silent area. “Why aren’t the Heartless here…?”

“There is a great Darkness here…” Ashi said coldly, her eyes narrow. “I can’t pinpoint it, but it’s here, somewhere.”

“Could this be the Leader of the Heartless Leon talked about?!” Sora asked, looking desperately up at Ashi’s stoic and emotionless face. She still stood at the ready, with little openings in her stance. Swallowing, he glanced around the deathly-silent area they stood in. “This is too quiet for me…”

No sooner did he say that did a bunch of the shadow-like Heartless began to appear all around them, encircling the duo completely. “Great. Wish I hadn’t said it…” Sora muttered as he charged head-long into the fray.

“Wait!” Ashi shouted, causing Sora to stop dead in his tracks, before he could even reach them. “They’re not attacking us…” Blinking his blue eyes, Sora glanced around him and noticed it too. They remained still and motionless, their glowing little buggy-eyes starting at Ashi at him, but they didn’t move to attack. They just…stood there, as if awaiting a command.

Then, suddenly, one of them burst into wisps of black smoke, the smoke slowly circling upwards above Ashi and Sora’s heads. The one next to it did the same thing, and the one after that, and the one after that. They created a chain of black explosions with the shadowy energy that made up each Heartless gathering above the courtyard. Sora deemed it wise to move away from where the shadow as gathering, and Ashi quickly followed suit.

Once the final Heartless disappeared, the shadows gathered together and created a solid mass; quickly crashing down before the heroes. It formed the shape of a massive suit of purple armor, the chest adorned with that strange symbol that seemed to be associated with the Heartless. Each piece of the armor seemed to move of its own accord; its two arms, two legs, head and torso, and it did not look ready to play around.

“This has to be their leader!” Ashi shouted.

Sora gave a nod of his head and held his Keyblade ready. “Let’s go!”

It seemed like this Keyblade thing just attracted trouble, as the first move the armored Heartless made was to strike Sora. Given how big and burly the arm was, he wasn’t expecting it to be so damn _fast_ \-- and next thing he knew, Sora was flying through the air and crashing against one of the walls surrounding the courtyard they were in. Only then did the pain set in as he slid down the wall in a heap, groaning loudly. It felt like that arm just turned all of his bones into cottage cheese. Stars floated above his vision, and somewhere in the distance, he heard Ashi shouting something – was that his name? It sounded so far away, like she was speaking through a tube, and he couldn’t understand anything of what she said.

Once the stars vanished, Sora lifted his head up to see the arm reading for another attack towards him. It was clear that this shot would probably kill him, and Sora knew he had not the strength to avoid it in the current state he was in.

But the fist never hit him. It took a moment for Sora to realize that Ashi was standing before him, _protecting_ him, and to see her purple figure shoot off in another direction. The first embedded her further into the wall then it had Sora, and seeing her form smash against the wall suddenly got his heart pumping.

She had gotten herself injured for _him!_ To _save_ him!!

The adrenaline suddenly kicked in just as Ashi hit the floor, Sora springing to his feet and suddenly feeling no pain. “Ashi!!” He cried out, but didn’t see her move. Baring his teeth, his attention snapped towards the giant Heartless before him. With a yell that he himself didn’t know he could unleashed, Sora sprung into action and charged at the armored creature before him.

The Heartless swung its fist again, just as fast as before, and managed to graze Sora in his charge. Sora tumbled to the ground and did a roll, swinging his Keyblade up as the arm returned, dragging the tip of the blade along the armor. The most sickening screeching sound came from the metal grinding against metal, the Keyblade leaving a large gash along the underside of the arm.

The arm twitched and jerked up from Sora before he could continue, moving to slam down towards the ground. Sora quickly found his footing and jumped out of the way as the fist hit the ground, creating a large shockwave. The force of the punch knocked him clean off of his feet, falling flat onto his face. The Keyblade flew from his fingers and clattered against the stone ground.

Already, Sora could see the shadow of the hand loom over him. This time, he didn’t have the time to dodge. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited for the blow to hit him.

But it never came.

Sora opened his eyes and turned his head towards the floating arm, to see that it had been caught in place…almost as if something was _holding_ it there. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but just then the Keyblade returned to his hand and he took his chance while he had it.

Swinging the Keyblade, Sora jabbed it forward and straight into the palm of the armored hand, releasing a wave of burning fire inside of the armor to strike the Heartless below. What followed was a huge explosion; the armor shattered and flew every-which-way, and the entire shadowy hand disbursed into wisps of smoke, vanishing from sight. Sora quickly lowered his Keyblade and raised his arms to defend from the flying shards of metal.

Once again, they never hit him; instead, they panged off of a glowing green shield that surrounded him. Sora blinked his eyes and looked around, wondering who made it. _Did Ashi…?_

“No time to sit around daydreaming!!” Came a voice from above. Sora wondered who it was, but he didn’t have time to think about such matters. Not when the feet were slamming hard into the ground and creating massive shockwaves!

This time, Sora saw the attack coming and braced himself, stumbling backwards when the wave hit him, but this time he managed to remain on his feet. From somewhere above, he saw something glinting in the evening lights of the city; something moving sharply and swiftly through the courtyard, wrapping around the remaining arm. The arm stopped moving completely, tugged into place by whatever it was that he saw.

Squinting, Sora saw thin lines wrapped around the armored arm, spanning up towards one balcony above him. Following the lines, he saw the figure of a girl – maybe only a year older then he was – holding something in her hands. He couldn’t really make out her features, but whoever she was, she appeared to be on their side.

That’s when he remembered there were _other_ pieces of the Heartless floating around, just as one of the feet kicked him to the side. He let out a gasp of pain as he went tumbling across the pavement, rolling into another wall with a loud _thud_. It wasn’t as bad as his first shock, but it still sent a wave of pain through his body. Sora grunted and quickly righted himself, pushing himself off of the ground.

“Hey, time to wake up and smell the coffee!” The girl from the balcony shouted, her voice strained, “I can’t hold the arm _forever_!!”

Glancing up, Sora saw that the arm was twitching and tugging the thin lines that held it in place. The girl was gritting her teeth and her arms were beginning to shake against the strain, her feet slowly dragging towards the edge of the balcony. Ignoring the pain that was coursing through his body, Sora found the strength to leap off of the ground and swing his Keyblade up, driving the blunt of it down against the palm of the hand. The blade became stuck between the fingers of the twitching arm, and he struggled to pry it free.

That’s when he saw a violet shadow leap from the ground and attack the arm from the opposite side. The blade of Ashi’s Naginata glowed with a pulsating violet light, and began to cleave through the arm like a hot knife through butter. Sora managed to find the strength to lift his body upwards, allowing Ashi’s attack to cut all the way through and release him. In a moment, he felt the energy slice just inches below him, and the sensation of falling quickly came after.

A singular strong arm wrapped around his waist and drew him in. Ashi held Sora firmly against her, landing safely on the ground just as the two pieces of the arm came crashing down. Sora’s head was conveniently resting against her soft, ample cleavage, which only caused him to completely lose focus and flush deeply as she gently set him down.

“Are you alright?” She inquired, her voice laden with concern. Sora looked up at her and nodded quickly. He stumbled about his words for a moment before he managed to squeeze out a coherent phrase.

“W-what about you…?” Sora managed to shudder out, still flushed with embarrassment.

“I’ll be fine,” Ashi assured, despite her bruised-and-battered form; and then glanced up towards the balcony, “I'm glad we got some help, though.”

“Eh, lil ol me? Aww, shucks! You're too kind!” The girl chuckled, leaping from the balcony and landing beside the duo. She stood a few inches above Sora and had jet black hair that reached past her shoulder blades, flipping outwards at the tips with four thick green streaks in her bangs. Her eyes were a bright aqua color – Sora noted how similar they were to Riku’s – and she wore an array of black and green. The strange objects she held in her hands looked like giant green Yo-Yo’s, only…they each had three spiked blades coming out of them. Her eyes fell on the Keyblade, then met Sora's gaze. “Woulda gotten here sooner, but man-oh-man! These goons are just _flooding_ the streets!”

“Uh...”

“Glad I finally caught up to you, kiddo!” She slapped Sora hard on the back, causing him to lurch forward. “Name's Shidou, and _boy_ am I happy to see you in one piece!”

The girl, Shidou, cocked a smirk and leaped into battle without another word. She released the Yo-Yo’s from her hands and began to flail them around, bringing their long strands around her as she spun in a rapid circle. Sora gawked at how skilled she was with such an odd weapon; watching her shoot towards the body. The blades of her weapon began to slice into the torso and head of the giant Heartless, gradually slashing away at the violet armor that protected it.

Shidou then stopped spinning and lifted her arms up, causing her Yo-Yo’s to raise above her head. She snapped her arms down and wrapped the string around the head and pulled herself towards it. Planting her feet against the face of the Heartless, she thrust her legs upward and threw the head into the air. With supreme skill, she lashed her arms around and brought the head into a spiral pattern, then abruptly threw her arms downwards and sent the head crashing into the ground. The head shattered into several pieces, releasing thin wisps of smoke as it was destroyed. Shidou snapped her hands and called the Yo-Yo’s back and landed on the balcony again.

As soon as Shidou began to attack the head, Ashi took off running and used her Naginata as a pole-vault and hurled herself towards the damaged torso. Twisting it around, she buried the blade of her weapon into the large gash in the center of the torso that Shidou had created. Black energy surged down her weapon and entered into the Heartless. Quickly, Ashi removed the Naginata and pushed herself off, landing beside the still-gawking Sora. The same dark energy began to spark and charge through the torso. Casually, she lifted a hand and snapped her fingers, causing the energy to explode, engulfing the torso in black-and-violet burst of power. It created a sizable explosion and completely destroyed the torso.

“Whoa…” Sora managed to mutter. Their team work was amazing!

“Stop gaping and fight!” Ashi commanded, causing the younger boy to flinch considerably. Leaning her Naginata against her shoulder, she held her palms out and released a wave of violet energy, encasing the legs within a thick layer of black ice. “Use your fire to rapidly heat up the frozen legs. It’ll cause them to become brittle and shatter with ease.”

Sora, not wanting to question Ashi’s judgment and greater knowledge of battle strategies, did as he was told. Giving a nod of his head, he held his palms out and focused on the warm energy that churned within him, forcing it to become hot and to give it physical form.

“Focus harder.”

Apparently, the flame wasn’t hot enough for Ashi’s standards. It continued to glow within Sora’s palms, turning into a large fireball. He wasn’t quite sure what she meant by focus harder, but he tried none-the-less. It was difficult to make the flame stronger or brighter, since he didn’t know how the process worked per-say; he just knew how to call it out.

Suddenly, Sora felt Ashi behind him and her hands went to his, resting over them. “Don’t focus on the form as much, Sora,” Ashi instructed calmly, her breath close to Sora’s ear, “The form isn’t what matters. Focus on the _feeling_ that made it; see it through the flame’s eyes. Don’t think about what makes the flame, become the flame. Let the magic flow through you.”

The fireball suddenly began to rapidly increase in size. As it did, Sora realized that he felt Ashi’s own energy coursing through his veins, feeling the sheer strength of her will and of her magic flowing through him. The churning orange-and-yellow flames of his own magic and the licking violet-and-black flames of hers began to mingle together as the blast grew until it was about the size of a beach ball.

Ashi’s fingers curled around his wrists and thrust his arms forward, releasing the massive churning fireball towards the frozen legs. The fire hit the ice dead on and created a massive explosion of ice and flame, and sending a bright shockwave through the area. Sora would have stumbled to his feet if it weren’t for Ashi standing behind him.

The armor shattered and the Heartless had been completely destroyed. The darkness slowly dissipated into the air, and as it did a crystal-like heart floated into the sky, ascending to the stars above.

With the Heartless gone, all of the adrenaline that had been pumping through Sora’s veins suddenly stopped, and he was quickly over-come with fatigue and pain. Groaning, he stumbled backwards and lost his footing, the Keyblade vanishing from his hands. Ashi caught him and gently lowered him to the ground, placing his head in her lap.

“It’s finally over…” Sora chuckled through some pain, realizing how horribly banged-up he probably was right now. His side ached from where that stupid foot had kicked him, and his entire insides felt like it had been turned into delicious Heartless pudding. More over, he was absolutely _exhausted_ from the non-stop fighting that he had been going through since he wound up in Traverse Town, and the pain didn’t help that fact at all.

“How are you feeling?” Ashi asked, lightly brushing some of his sweat-soaked bangs from his face, “You look like the Underworld itself.”

“I…I kind of feel that way, actually…” Sora laughed again, though was reminded of the pain in his side as it stabbed sharply against him with his laughter.

Shidou landed beside them and tucked her Yo-Yo’s away, “Someone isn’t used to fighting!” She giggled, holding her hands out. “Cure!” Green light surrounded Sora and Ashi, and in that moment he felt totally fine. Well…except he was _still_ pretty exhausted after all of that. Whoever Shidou was, she was obviously as gifted within the magical arts as Ashi was.

“Thank you...Shidou, was it?” Ashino inquired, Shidou nodding her head. “It appears that destroying that giant Heartless has calmed the surrounding ones considerably. I can hardly feel their presence.” As she said this, she rose to her feet.

Sora pushed himself off of his back and into a seated position with a bit of a groan, really wishing that he could take a _nap_ right about now. He was startled when he saw Shidou’s hand come out and hold itself before him as a gesture to help him to his feet. Reaching out, he took her hand and she yanked him up, and then gave him a hardy pat on the back.

The gesture nearly sent Sora face-first into the pavement again. “Whoa!” He stumbled forward, but thankfully he had at _least_ enough energy to keep himself from falling. “Phew…”

“Jeez, kiddo!” Shidou laughed, “You got a bit banged up, huh? You’re really not used to fighting!”

“Hey, who are you calling a kiddo?” Sora squawked, looking accusingly over at the taller girl, “You can’t be much older then I am!” To this, Shidou cocked a smirk and placed her hands on her hips, looming over him.

“I just so happen to be older then I look, kid!” She swatted him on the back of his head, “And don’t you know it’s rude to ask a lady her age?!”

Sora rubbed the back of his head where she had smacked him. “O-ow, okay, okay!!” He muttered, giving her a serious side eye. He wasn’t sure how old she was, honestly; she looked about Ashi’s age! Come to think of it, how old _was_ Ashi?

“Children, please.” Ashi gave an exasperated sigh, reaching her hand up and rubbing her temples. “Do I need to put you both into time-out?” Her tone was almost teasing.

“No, ma’am.” Shidou giggled. Sora only pouted in response.

“I’m not a child…” He grumbled below his breath.

“We best be leaving,” Ashi said and was about to leave, when something dawned on her. She blinked her eye a few times, then turned back to the duo behind her. “Thank you for the assistance, Shidou. We'll be on our way--”

“Oi, hold up! I ain't going anywhere without the kid!” Shidou cut Ashi off, glaring at her. “I was sent here by my Master find the Keyblade wielder, and make sure he's kept safe!”

Ashino narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. “I'm perfectly capable of protecting him.”

Shidou snorted, “Yeah, sure was _obvious_ there.” She scoffed, returning her glare up at Ashi. “And who the heckie-loo are _you_ , anyway? Sure don't look like you came from his World!”

“I'm not.” Ashi remained firm in her ground. “My name is Rinjuken Ashi-no-Hotaru. My world was destroyed by the Heartless, and I have made it my duty to protect the one who can stop them.” She gestured towards Sora as she said this. “I am a trained Samurai warrior, daughter of a samurai warlord, and am _more_ then qualified to train and protect him.”

“Yeah? Well, my Master is the _best_ gosh-diddly-dang wizard out there!” Shidou retorted. “I’ve been training under him for a _long_ time! He knows _all_ about Keyblades _and_ the Heartless! And I’ve trained lotsa other recruits, too!”

Ashi narrowed her eyes again, “How many wars have you fought in?”

“ _Excuse_ me?” Shidou’s gaze instantly grew cold and icy. She looked _deeply_ offended. Sora swore he had seen a Vine similar to her reaction more than once.

“I've fought in wars since I was a child. I am experienced in dealing with this sort of thing.” Ashino seemed to tower above Shidou now. “War is in my blood, battle is my life. Fighting the Heartless is no different from rival samurai and ronin.”

Shidou huffed, “Well, I'll have you know that I've been fighting since before you--”

“W-wait, guys! Stop!” Sora had heard enough. He barged between them. Both women stopped arguing and looked down at him. “Why can't guys just... _both_ come along?” He looked between them, smiling awkwardly. “I-I mean, you both swore to protect me, right? So it's silly to argue about it!”

Both parties looked at each other, down at him, then back at each other. It was like a cartoon. Sora tried not to laugh at these two older girls acting younger than he was! Ashi sighed and rubbed her temples. “I...suppose you have a point.”

Shidou scratched her head, “Well, shucks! Now I feel _silly_.”

“See? We can all get along!” Sora grinned, lowering his hands.

“I guess so!” Shidou laughed, “Looks like you _both_ are stuck with me.”

“ _Charming._ ” Ashi mumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes over-dramatically.

“Anyway, you got a name, kid?” Shidou asked with a tilt of her head.

“Oh!” Sora exclaimed, having forgotten to introduce himself in all of the excitement. “I'm Sora!”

“Pleasure to meet you, kid!” Shidou chirped.

“Yeah…could you stop calling me ‘kid?’ It’s getting annoying!” Sora pouted again, but only received a chipper grin in response. He sighed and hung his head, realizing that there would probably be no-way to get through to Shidou on the whole “kid” and “child” and “dumb” thing. However, in his doom-and-gloom state, he recalled his own, personal quest. Lifting his head up, he looked over to Shidou. “Hey…Shidou? I was wondering if you’ve seen my friends anywhere.”

“Um….” Shidou blinked and scratched the back of her head, “…What do they look like? I wandered through this entire town, so many I’ve seen them!”

“My friends are named Riku and Kairi. Riku’s a boy, a little older then me with silver hair and eyes kind of like yours. His hair's like...down to here, he smirks a lot, wears a lot of yellow too.” He paused, and quickly added, “He's super strong, and _really_ cool!” Shidou snickered at the added comment, but didn't say anything. “And then there's Kairi! She's a little younger then I am with kind of short, redish brown hair and blue eyes. She's really nice! They disappeared from my Island before it was destroyed…”

Shidou lifted her eyes to the sky and tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm…” After debating for a moment, she returned her gaze to Sora’s, her eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, Sora, I can’t say I have.”

“Oh.”

Sora drooped his head down again and sighed. It seemed as if no-one had seen either Riku or Kairi anywhere, not since his Island was destroyed. He was beginning to lose hope that he would ever find them again, or if the whole thing was some kind of a…dream, a nightmare created by his psyche when he somehow fled his world. That they really _where_ lost there or—

Sora was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Lifting his gaze, he found the hand belonged to Ashi, who store down into his eyes. Her face was serious, but her eyes were softer and almost comforting. It surprised him a bit. She confounded him, honestly.

“Sora, if you believe in your heart that they are out there, somewhere…then we will find them. I am sure of it.” Her voice was gentle.

Sora found himself smiling weakly at Ashi. “Thanks…I won’t give up! We’ll find them, right?” Ashi gave a short nod of her head, and Shidou added an enthusiastic thumbs up. That made Sora feel a little better, knowing that he had some new friends that were determined to stick with him – and find those closest to his heart.

“Now then…” Shidou raised her arms and folded them behind her head, grinning broadly, “We’ve got introductions out of the way, and I've found what my Master wanted me to! We’ve beaten the baddie and saved the day, yadda yadda yadda. So…what next?”

“We must find the source of the Heartless,” Ashi lifted her hand from Sora’s shoulder and gazed over at Shidou, “I'm not sure where that would be, but searching connected Worlds would be a good start. And…we need to find Sora’s friends, too.”

“Oh, shoot!” Shidou suddenly proclaimed, “I almost forgot! I gotta find someone else, too!”

Ashi quirked a brow. “Oh?”

Shidou shuffled her feet, “Well, ya’see...the World I come from is still intact, and isn’t connected right now. So it’s perfectly safe! But-!” She looked up and met Sora, then Ashi’s gazes. “There _is_ someone from a destroyed world I gotta find. She's _suuuuper_ important! She was a trainee under our Master a long time ago, but now _she's_ a Master, too! A _Keyblade_ Master, actually! She just up and wandered off one day, which is _so_ just like her!”

“Wow...a _Keyblade Master_?” Sora was shocked, imagining someone else wielding a Keyblade like him, but being a _master_ of it! Then again, he knew very little about it, aside from what Yuna and everyone else said.

“What can you tell us about her?” Ashi inquired, “It may help us, especially if I’ve spotted her around town.”

“Well, she's probably one of the most amazing people I've ever met!” Shidou chirped with stars in her eyes. Like, almost _literal_ stars. Did they end up in a cartoon all of the sudden? “Like, she's fluffing _brilliant!_ She's incredibly strong, super agile and can like...toss boulders and then bounce them back with her shield! Holy nut bunnies she's so cool to watch! But...she's also super reckless and just kinda does whatever the snick-snack she wants, and my Master is worried with her running off with the world's up and getting eaten by Heartless, that she’ll do something really, really _stupid_. Especially since she’s so powerful.” She paused, then added, “Oh, and she's also a princess on top of this.”

Ashi groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I mean, her _name_ , what she _looks_ like...”

“Oh!” Shidou laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head, “Well, she's pretty tall, uh...nearly 6 foot I think? Olive skin...such perfect black hair I swear to _Zeus_ I've never seen a hair out of place! Blue eyes, and looks like she could arm wrestle you to a stale-mate, Ashino.”

Listening to Shidou's fangirling over this Keyblade Master Princess left Sora very conflicted about what the heck this woman looked like! Who the heck _was_ she!

At least Ashi seemed to have an idea! “I haven’t seen anyone with that description, I’m sorry.”

Shidou shrugged. “Eh, that’s fine! I doubt she’d be here, anyway. She usually leaves a wave of swooning people behind her.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve known her for about ten years now, and usually people can't help but to melt when she's around.” Uncrossing her arms, she made a dismissive wave of her hand, “But, I digress! We can look for her while looking for Sora’s friends. Right?”

Sora shook the weird image he had compiled of this wanna-be edgelord, young king from his mind. “Y-yeah!” He managed a grin. “We should get going then, right?”

“Yep!” Shidou said, “Just go wherever the wind takes us?”

“I suppose…” Ashi sighed.

“Alright! Lets get going!” Sora grinned, finding new excitement. He would find Riku and Kairi – he would! – and more over, he had a chance to explore new worlds! Oh…if only they were here right now and experiencing what he was! “I want to see what else is out there!”

“Very well, then,” Ashi commented, “But Sora, don’t expect that the trip to new worlds will be an easy one. You need to _train_ if you are to keep up, as well as the Heartless.”

Sora dropped his enthusiastic pose and nodded his head. “I understand, I guess. I’m not used to fighting this much…”

“You’ll do swell!” Shidou chirped, “Keep your chin up, kiddo!”

Sora grinned and nodded his head. Somehow…the thought of training with Ashi and Shiodu didn’t seem too bad, even though apart of him dreaded it. Plus, it would pass the time between Worlds and keep his mind off of the whereabouts of Riku and Kairi…and off of what all of this meant…the Heartless and the disappearance of Worlds…

 

And somehow, he knew that they would all be together again, someday.

 


	3. Jungle's Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, it's Jungle Time with Tarzan and Co!!

 

“Ashi!” Came Sora’s voice through the chaos, jerking his head backwards and towards the vanishing figure of his companion, “Wait for us!!”

The purple-haired warrior didn’t seem to hear Sora, continuing on her plight. The dark energy of the Heartless only grew stronger as she tore through her enemies, easily dispatching them back into the abyss. Even as Sora continued to shout after her, his words fell upon deaf ears until she could be seen no more, having vanished among the shadows of the monkey-like Heartless swarm.

“Shoot!” Shidou shouted, flailing her yo-yo’s around Sora, trying to catch a glimpse of Ashi. “Ashino!!”

Sora frantically looked across the battle field; beyond Shidou and her flying yo-yo’s, and past their new companion on this world – a native man in a very tiny loin cloth, battling the Heartless with his handy spear – trying to find any sign of Ashi. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to figure out which way she had disappeared in.Where had she gone?

He couldn’t see her anywhere; and all of these dang trees looked the same to him! Baring his teeth, Sora staved off an oncoming Heartless attack with his Keyblade, shoving the creature off before glancing around again.

“Ashi!” Sora shouted again over the chaos, though swiftly, he realized that the Heartless were just too numerous to try and find her. His eyes darted away from the outskirts of the battle, focusing his attention on the now.

Determination filled the young teenager, twisting his Keyblade in his hand into a position better suited for offensive attack then the defensive pose he had before. Sora gritted his teeth together and rushed forward, striking at the Heartless with a frantic ferocity that only the notion of a friend in peril could bring forth in him. He tore through the monkey-like shadows swiftly, so much so that Shidou stopped her attack to watch him fight.

“Whoa…” She muttered, eyes wide at this sudden burst of skill from the noodley-armed youth. But, even though Sora ripped through the Heartless at an alarming rate, there were still too many of those fast-moving and heavy-hitting bastards to ignore for too long. Quickly, Shidou thrust her hand out, releasing a bladed yo-yo at an offending Heartless and hitting it square in the face.

Even their new companion, a simple fellow who called himself Tarzan, seemed impressed by this sudden burst of energy and skill from Sora. The determination to make sure no one else he cared about disappear was so great, that the 14-year-old somehow found his skill increase tremendously. When his friends were in danger caused some kind of a trigger to be pulled within Sora, sending him into a rampage.

Within a few more minutes the seemingly endless swarm of Heartless had been dealt with. As soon as the last of them vanished within wisps of black-and-purple smoke, Sora disbursed the Keyblade and looked frantically around him.

“Ashi!!” He shouted loudly, trying to find any sign of her, “ _Ashi?!_ ” He shouted again, trying to remember which way she had run off. Every single bit of the clearing looked the same as the last; with tall bamboo trees spread across the field. He didn’t even know which way they had come into the area! “Ashi!!” He shouted again.

“She must be too far away from us, kiddo!” Shidou shouted over at Sora, jogging over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Sora flinched in response, but stopped his frantic looking about. “We’re not going to get anywhere if you panic like that! You need to be calm. It’s the only way we’ll figure it out!” Sora still remained tense under her hand, his fists clenched and his jaw taught. Shidou sighed and gave his shoulder another squeeze. “Take some deep breaths, Sora. It’ll help.”

Sora closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and let it out…and again, and again. It didn’t help at all, his eyes snapping open and turning his head up to Shidou. “This isn’t going to help us find her!” He said in an angry tone, “What if she’s in trouble, or danger?! We need to find her as soon as--"

“Calm down!!” Shidou scolded, her eyes twisted into an uncommon glare. The very expression on her face startled Sora; he had never seen Shidou glare in the week or so he had known her. “Look, Ashino sure as heck looks like she's capable of taking care of herself! You should _know_ this by now!” She took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes and giving a small shake of her head, opening them and looking back down at Sora. She wasn’t glaring anymore, but her face was still serious. “I know you’re worried, but don’t be. We’ll find her. Now, think; I know it’s hard for you right now, but do it! How can we find her?”

Sora sighed angrily and closed his eyes again, taking a few deep breaths. He tried to think, but it was hard to when he was so worried about his new friend – if he could even _call_ Ashi that. However, when he opened his eyes, he saw their new companion hunched over on the other side of the clearing, spear in his strong, calloused hands.

“Tarzan!!” Sora exclaimed, causing the simple, loin-cloth wearing native to jerk his head up and look over at the boy. When Sora looked into the surprisingly intelligent green eyes of the strangely simple man, the idea struck him like a brick to the face. “Tarzan, do you know which way my friend, Ashi, went?”

Tarzan looked up at Sora with a quizzical expression for a moment. “Please!” Sora urged, not knowing how else to express it. Although Tarzan had proven to be useful to the team on their quest on this jungle world, he spoke very little English and didn’t quite understand most of what was being said.

But those eyes said something else.

Somehow, Tarzan seemed to sense what was being asked of him and nodded his head, causing his brown dreadlocks to bounce slightly. He hobbled up to Sora on all four arms, much like the few Gorillas they had encountered, and then looked over his shoulder towards a path.

Sora’s eyes followed Tarzan’s gaze, “That way?” He asked. Tarzan looked back up at him and gave a nod. “Alright, let’s go!”

Sora and Tarzan went running down the path, with Shidou trailing behind them. “All it takes is a moment to slow down and _think_ , eh, Sora?” She said more to herself with a playful smirk, yo-yo’s at the ready in her palms.

  
~-~-~-~

 

It certainly didn’t seem like just a few days ago, the trio was in space, and had just found their their way to this jungle-world. Or that Sora had just been training in magic peacefully in the quaint forest outside of Fuku's cottage, either!

The moment they arrived on the world, everything fell apart. Apparently, the teleportation system on Fuku had malfunctioned, splitting the group up as she warped them down to the planet. It took Sora the better part of one day to find them, and if it weren’t for a chance encounter with Tarzan, he would have probably gotten lost in the jungle, never to find them again.

Thanks to Tarzan, he managed to find Ashi and Shidou and, despite his general lack of understanding of the English language, took them to a camp with a lady named Jane who _did_ know English. And…well, that triggered their journey to find whatever it was they were looking for here, and they spent the remainder of the day before running around the jungle, leaving all exhausted come night-time.

Jane was kind enough to allow them a place to stay and food to eat. Her companion, however, a brutish man named Clayton, was not the ideal host. No, he spent much of his time brooding and demanding Tarzan where the Gorillas were.

The following day, they rose bright and early when Tarzan showed up, and they were about to run off when it was revealed that Clayton had left that night, but never came back. Sora and his new companions were charged to find him since the “jungle was dangerous,” according to Jane.

And dangerous it was.

No sooner did they step out of the campsite did the Heartless emerge. And so, not only were they running around a jungle, climbing trees, swinging on vines all to find a jerk named Clayton, but they were doing it _while_ fighting the Heartless!

 

But, as usual, they were following Ashi. Although the jungle was Tarzan's home, Ashi had the ability to sense dark energy. Even more-so the kind the Heartless radiated. Oddly enough. Although they had no luck in finding Clayton or where he disappeared to, Ashi noted that the latent energy left by the Heartless was growing stronger the deeper the ventured. And soon, they were swarmed.

 

Which lead them to their present position. Somehow, during all of the fighting, all of the members of Sora’s party had gotten separated from each other in the madness. The powerful monkey-like Heartless just kept on spawning around them, and they wouldn’t stop appearing. However, Ashi drew herself further and further away, until she up and vanished; no doubt following her senses.

But, thankfully, they had Tarzan to guide them. And guide them he did.

The tall man hobbled out of the clearing and into a more enclosed area, surrounded by tall trees and swinging vines. The path wasn’t worn very well and it was difficult to see, thanks to all of the overgrowth. Sora placed his hand above his eyes and squinted, trying to make out a purple-and-gray shape within the grove of green.

“I don’t see her…” He noted, his eyes darting around, trying to catch a glimpse of Ashi.

“She’s gotta be this way!” Shidou noted, also looking around, “But were do we go from here? There’s no path!”

“Darn it!” Sora exclaimed angrily, giving a heavy huff of disappointment, “How are we going to find her?!”

Tarzan, meanwhile, had hobbled on ahead on all fours, and approached some underbrush. He reached out with his calloused, strong hands and grasped at a plant before him. He drew it close to him, studying the branches and noting how they bent unnaturally. Those green eyes of his jerked up and foreword, noting a trail of broken branches and trampled under-brush. These were things Sora and Shidou couldn’t notice, for this wasn’t their home.

Grabbing his spear, Tarzan wordlessly took off, following the trail. Sora jerked his head up towards the fleeing man, his eyes widening.

“H-hey!!” He shouted, spinning on his heel and dashing after the native, “W-wait for us!!”

Tarzan analyzed his surroundings with precision, and did so quickly. Somehow, in the confusion, Ashi had managed to get ahead of them by a great deal; but she didn’t encounter any Heartless along the way. That would have slowed her down enough for them to catch up with her at the rate they ran. No, she was running through the trail Tarzan tracked, his hands pressing against the ground as he skidded around a sharp curve before continuing to run.

“H-hey…slow down!” Sora called from behind Tarzan, already panting. He was having difficulties keeping up with the jungle dweller, especially with how he rapidly twisted and leaped through the surroundings.

But that was the least of their problems, apparently. As Sora chased after Tarzan, some movement caught the corner of his eye. Turning his gaze towards his side, his blue eyes widened. Snapping his hand out, he summoned the Keyblade once more, spinning around as a Heartless sprung from the underbrush and attacked him.

Gritting his teeth, Sora pushed the Heartless’ claws off of his Keyblade and tossed it to the side, twisting the oversized key in his grip and hit it on the creature’s head.

“We’ve got company!” He shouted over towards Tarzan, who stopped in his frantic dash to spin around and stab at an offending Heartless. Sora hurried after Tarzan as best he could, swinging his Keyblade left and right, disbursing Heartless as quickly as he could to catch up with their companion.

But, they were spawning too quickly for them to continue to move down the path Tarzan followed. There were enough of the creatures for all of them to tangle with for a while; even with Shidou whipping her yo-yos out to strike at the stragglers on the outskirts of the battle.

“Dang it!” Sora hissed, slipping the Keyblade down to the chain on the end and swinging it around his head in a circle, striking the offending Heartless that surrounded him. He released it from his hand and caught it firmly by the handle, bringing it down upon another monster. “We’re never going to find her at this rate!”

“Cool down, kiddo!” Shidou urged, pulling both of her yo-yo’s around her and spinning in a rapid circle, lashing them out around her and releasing them from the closeness of her body, whipping out with precision to strike more of the Heartless. “We need to think of a way to deal with them quickly!”

“But how?!” Sora shouted over the chaos, lunging foreword with his Keyblade and disbursing another Heartless into the shadows. He only knew one spell, and was hesitant to use it, since he didn’t really want to burn the forest down. And, from what he learned of Shidou, she didn’t know any offensive magic either…but there were too many of them! Just fighting wouldn’t do!

“Tarzan, can you cover us?” Shidou asked, glancing over her shoulder at the native man. He looked up from the fray and gave a confident nod of his head, lashing his spear out and downing another couple Heartless in the process.

Shidou backed up against Sora and raised her hand, summoning a glowing shield around them. “What are you planning, Shidou?” Sora inquired, glancing up at her.

“We’re going to do a Limit Break,” Shidou informed, snapping her wrists and calling back her yo-yos, “I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but it happens when two people with magical powers combine their energies together to create a massive attack. I don’t know what’ll happen when we combine our powers, Sora; especially since this is our first time. Just focus on my aura and I’ll do the same and…well, the magic will figure out the rest. Got it?”

Sora gave a nod of his head, pursing his lips together. “Yeah, I think.”

Another new experience. Sora was learning all sorts of things with Ashi and Shidou that he would have never experienced on his island. First, he learned about magic, and now he was learning about combining magical energy together to make a Limit Break. But, he had to do what Shidou told him to do, or else the shield would fail and they’d be in the same position they were in before.

Sora closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. Just like when he had to find his magic, he tried to look inside of Shidou to find hers. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for him to find; it was warm, just like when Ashi’s magic surged through him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, the entire jungle becoming tinted green with Shidou’s power surging into him.

It happened naturally, at least, that’s what it felt like. Fire trailed down Sora’s fingers and burst from them, tracing themselves down the strands of Shidou’s yo-yos. She lashed them out around her, releasing tendrils of flame all around them, easily destroying the near-by Heartless, without damaging the forest.

What happened next was just following where their combined energies lead them. Sora released small tendrils of flame towards Shidou, which trailed down her yo-yos in massive bursts of flame, cleaving through the throngs of Heartless wherever she released them. The flame was in such short bursts that it only barely singed the surrounding foliage. They repeated this motion about four or five more times before the limit of their magic came out in one massive burst.

The two of them leaped up into the air, as if guided by a mysterious hand that they could not see. Sora’s Keyblade was released from his hand, hovering before them as flame encircled it, engulfing it with a brilliant blaze. Shidou encircled the blade with her yo-yo’s and hurled it down at the ground, releasing a massive explosion of flame and a shock-wave of green energy, similar to her barrier.

It was enough to make a big enough dent within the Heartless for Tarzan to finish them off quickly, just as Sora and Shidou landed back on the ground.

Sora practically collapsed, never having output so much energy in one go. The Keyblade returned to his hand, and he used it to prop himself up. Through his pants, he looked up at Shidou, “T-that’s…a Limit Break…?”

“Yep! Not bad for your first time!” Shidou clapped a hand on Sora’s shoulder and helped him up to his feet, “But no time to be rejoicing, we gotta catch up to Ashi!”

Sora gave a nod of his head and stumbled back to his feet, through the use of his Keyblade. “Right.”

Tarzan took off on the trail once again, his keen eyes spotting the subtle disturbances within the underbrush of his jungle home. He knew this was no track made by the native animals, and some of the broken and cracked branches were too high to have been caused by the Heartless. He leaped over branches, turned quickly, and kept his eyes peeled. Shidou and Sora could only follow him at this point.

However, Tarzan suddenly stopped, causing the pair behind him to come to a screeching halt.

Thank goodness for that, too.

“Whoa…” Sora gaped, his eyes wide and his mouth held agape. His eyes gazed down from the beautiful, picturesque skyline, painted with the soft colors of the setting sun, and the massive precipice they stood upon.

It plummeted by several hundred feet, no doubt; and only more endless jungle spanned out below. But, Sora noted, there was a large waterfall down below – but besides that, there was nothing but green painted by the dim light of the sun.

He also noticed that Tarzan had stopped, and was also peering down the cliff they stood on. Sora looked over at his new friend, arching a curious eyebrow over his head. Why would they stop?

“Where’d she go from here, Tarzan?” He asked, drawing the attention of the simple man up at him. “Come on, she had to go somewhere, right?” For a few moments, Tarzan store at Sora with confusion, before Sora sighed and tried again. “Friend, Ashi. Which way?” He had to remember that Tarzan wasn’t _quite_ fluent in speaking human yet, but thankfully, he seemed to understand.

Tarzan looked left, then right. He hobbled over to the left, picked at the ground and sniffed the air; then did the same to the right of where they stood. For a moment, he looked around with a perplexed expression on his face, then glanced up at Sora. He shrugged his shoulders.

“W-wha…what?!” Sora gasped, his eyes even wider then they were before. “Y-you don’t know where she went?”

Tarzan shook his head. “No.” He responded gruffly.

“B-but how? There’s no other way for her to go--"

“But down.” Sora rapidly turned his attention towards Shidou as she spoke, her aqua eyes gazing down at the vast jungle below.

“H-how? I mean, it’s over hundreds of feet! No one can jump down there without hurting themselves…right?” Sora suddenly felt uneasy. He glanced down the cliff they were on and to the jungle below; that drop made the tall buildings of Traverse Town look like children’s toys. Not even Ashi could survive a fall like that!

“Son of a space pirate!” Shidou hissed, slamming her right fist into her left palm in frustration, “Where the name of Uranus _else_ could she have _gone_ , kiddo?” She turned towards Sora, gesturing towards the edge of the cliff.

“B-but...” Sora looked over again, feeling dread fill his gut. Did she not stop in time? Could she have fallen? Was she...gone?

Shidou rubbed her temples. “Look, I don't think she fell down. Ashino's too good for that,” She lowered her hand and looked at Sora with a stark expression. “But unless she climbed down, teleported, or-or-- I don’t know! _Flew_ or something, we've got nothing to go by!”

Sora pressed his lips together. Neither of them really knew all that much about Ashi, only that she was a skilled magic user and a warrior. Maybe she _could_ have teleported or something. But, if she _had_ fallen...

He looked over the edge and gulped.

“Tarzan, can we get down there?” Shidou asked, pointing down.

Tarzan peered over the edge, then looked up at her with a nod. “Yes.”

“How?”

“No.” He shook his head, “Dark soon. Dangerous.” He gestured to the sky.

Sora snapped his head back up and found himself getting worked up again. “We _have_ to find her!”

Tarzan met his gaze with a calm one. “Dangerous.” He repeated, and began to hobble off.

“But--”

“Tarzan's right, Sora.” Shidou grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and began to drag him back. “We don't know this world at all, and what it'll present after dark.” Besides more Heartless, but she didn't need to say that. “It's safer if we wait until morning.”

“Bu-But Ashi--”

“ _Can take care of herself._ ” Shidou reiterated, letting go of his hood. Sora huffed and smoothed it back down, pouting up at her. “More then you or I could, honestly. So lets get some rest, and Tarzan will take us down there tomorrow.” She patted his shoulder. “We'll find her.”

Sora cast another sidelong glance down the drop, then back at Shidou. Sighing, he nodded his head. She was right, Ashi was tough. If she could survive in a war-torn world, she could survive a night in the jungle.

Right?  
  
~-~-~-~

 

“There’s great darkness here.”

Ashino said to herself as she entered into a clearing, painted a soft yellow color as the sun began to disappear behind the canopy of the jungle. She had wandered a long way through the forest, following her senses as to where the source of darkness could be. Maybe the Keyhole was around here, spilling forth with Heartless. The pull was strong, even stronger than in Traverse Town. It was enough that she had forgotten about her companions or where she had wandered to get to this point.

But, she didn’t sense any Heartless. They had a different kind of dark energy around them then what she was feeling now. Theirs was teeming and uncontrolled. A chaotic whirl of energy. But what she felt was so precise, so _controlled_ that it had to be some sort of manipulator, a hidden hand. Perhaps someone controlling the Heartless?

Ashino was close to the source. She could feel it. It was so intense that it caused the hair on the nape of her neck to stand on end. Somewhere within the shadows of the trees that surrounded the clearing.

Ashino’s pale eyes looked around slowly, taking in each shadow cast by the evening sun. They a looked normal and unremarkable, typical of what a jungle surrounding would cast. There were no Heartless in this area. But, that dark energy was here…she just needed to hone her senses and find it.

 _Patience, Ashino. Just like Father said: Mountains can be moved, stone by stone._..

 

They knew she was here, too.

“What’s she looking for?” Came the voice of a teenage boy from the shadows, carefully hidden from the naked eye.

Riku had learned a lot, traveling the worlds under the guidance of his dark Master and the woman he traveled with, Maleficent. She was his—shit, what should be call her? His boss? Mistress? She often called herself the “Mistress of All Evil,” but she was was their Master's underling, no doubt about that. And she _was_ teaching him dark magic, and how to become stronger and tougher.

He knew the purple-haired girl in the clearing was a girl named Ashi, who was traveling with Sora. She had already taken his place at Sora's side as his Knight, and it made Riku bristle a bit.

“She senses our presence,” Responded the elegant voice of Maleficent, dripping with sinister intent. She always sounded like everything she said had malice in it, even if she was baby talking her pet crow. Riku had no idea how she managed to do it. Still creeped him the hell out. “The skills she possesses are _remarkable_. I wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to sense our presence. Most intriguing…”

Riku glanced out from the shadows again, watching as Ashi continued to silently and astutely look about the surroundings. He folded his arms across his chest as he spoke, “Is she one of them? One of the Princesses?”

Maleficent scoffed, “ _Don't_ be a fool!” She sneered. “Use the powers I have taught you to use, my apprentice! Look _deep_ into her heart! Tell me what you find!”

Riku rolled his eyes and unfolded his arms. He didn't like how Maleficent belittled him, but her methods worked. Plus sometimes, he could hear their Master's voice in his head, telling him to listen to what she had to say and just...suck it in. Ugh, how annoying. So, he listened to her and narrowed his eyes, trying to focus his powers of darkness to see into the heart of Ashi. His abilities weren’t refined yet, even with all of the training he had gotten. But, it didn’t take him long to pin point what was within Ashi’s heart. He let out a gasp and turned up to his teacher. “Her heart, it’s--"

“--Riddled with darkness.” The Mistress of All Evil said with a deep and menacing chuckle, her eyes gazing out and studying Ashi as well. A sinister glint was in her eye, staring at Ashi as if she was looking at fresh meat. _That_ made Riku very uneasy. As much as part of him was skeevy of Ashi, he hated how much she was looking at one of Sora's friends like the Predator or something. Ugh. Gross. “Very good, your powers are _improving_ , my apprentice. _He_ will be most pleased.”

“Why don’t we use _her_ for our plans, then?” Though Riku hated the look in Maleficent's eye, Ashi _could_ be really useful. Not for the Shards cause...well, he wouldn't want Sora's poor heart to break. Especially with Kairi's heart missing, too. But for other purposes...In fact, he sensed almost as _much_ darkness in this purple-haired girl as their Master...

“That may be true, but her darkness is… _different_.” The woman peered down at her apprentice. “No…it will be quite difficult for us to control her as we are now.”

“Hmph. You make it sound like we’re not powerful enough to take her.” The boy scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Quite the contrary,” The woman chuckled, “We could easily combat her, yes, but _controlling_ her is a different story. We must gather more of the _shards_ if we wish to change her to our side. And, for that, we need our new friend…don’t we?” She looked down at the boy with gleaming eyes, the same sinister smirk on her lips. He felt a shudder run down his spine.

“Fine. I guess you're--”

“Show yourself!” Riku barely time to speak when Ashi’s voice cracked through the still jungle. Both parties looked out from their hiding spots within the shadows, finding Ashi’s pale eyes staring right at him.

The boy looked up to Maleficent, only to see that she had vanished. He sighed and realized he was on his own. No sense in hiding. Typical.

Riku sighed and stepped out of shrubbery and bamboo, facing Ashi with his shoulders back and his head held high. Might as well face the music and get this over with. She'd have no idea who he was anyway, they'd have a little chat, part ways and then--

“...Riku?”

He nearly tripped.

“Wha--” Riku stammered, his eyes widening and he looked up at her, completely flabbergasted. He was so _sure_ that the times he and Maleficent had spied on them, that he had never been spotted!

Ashi let out a sigh of...relief, almost. “Thank Amaterasu, it _is_ you!” She exclaimed, shaking her head. “Sora will be so happy to know you're alive and safe.”

“I—Uh--” This wasn't like him to be at a loss for words. Thankfully, Ashi filled in the blanks for him.

“Oh! Forgive me. I know who you are but you haven't the foggiest about me.” Ashi bowed deeply at the waist, her hands folded in front of her. “I am Ashi-no-Hotaru, most people call me Ashino or just Ashi. I met Sora a few weeks ago when your world was destroyed.” She raised back up and managed a half-smile, it was almost forced. “He's been searching so adamantly for you, and your other friend, Kairi. He speaks so often of the both of you, I feel like I know the both of you already.” She shook her head, managing another grin, “I could already picture what you and Kairi look like in my mind because of how vividly he describes you.”

Riku closed his mouth. Okay, that _did_ sound like Sora. He couldn't help but to grin and chuckle. “Figures.” He rubbed the back of his head. “How many embarrassing stories has he told you?” Damn that boy for being so sweet.

“None, actually.” Ashi responded, though her voice seemed matter-of-fact. “Most of the embarrassing stories are about _him_. You're usually the incredibly cool one who swoops in and saves the day. You're like a romantic samurai who saves the day in a poetic ballad.”

Riku laughed, feeling himself turn a bit pink, “A _samurai?_ ” It sounded more like a _knight_ from how Ashi described it, but he closed his mouth quickly. He studied Ashi's clothing and then her weapons, and the references she made. Right. Her world seemed to be based more on a country similar to a place called Japan where he came from. “Heh. Yeah, I guess that's fitting.”

“I'm a samurai as well, though...less romantic.” Her voice was still cold and distant. It sounded like how s he usually talked to Sora and Shidou from the few times Riku had spied on her and the others. “But, I digress. We should get back to the camp Sora and Shidou are at – it's getting dark. Apparently the jungle is dangerous, even without the Heartless. And it gets cold at night, and I--”

“I'm sorry, but I can't go with you.” Riku cut her off, his mood darkening. Though actually talking to Ashi did...assuage some of his fears about her, it still didn't change things. She was still stealing Sora away.

And as much as he wanted to see Sora again, he had to remember one very important thing: Sora had taken what was rightfully his. He needed to get it back. And to do that, he needed to walk a different path right now.

Ashi looked taken aback at this. “What?” She asked, her brows furrowing together. “Sora's very worried about you, and I know you must miss him, too.”

“I do.” Riku admitted, coldly, pushing that feeling aside, “But I walk a different path now.”

Ashi narrowed her eyes. “You mean your darkness?” Riku silently nodded. “Riku, that doesn't mean anything. You can walk a dark path and not be twisted or corrupted by it, and still fight for the light or be a good person.” She pressed her hands over her heart. “My heart is filled with darkness, and while I may not be a good person...” She met his gaze with her own, her pale eyes growing determined. “I'm not lost on my own path.”

“We aren't the same.” Riku snapped, narrowing his eyes at her. “I'm not afraid of the Darkness.”

“It has nothing to do with fear.” Ashi didn't snap at him, didn't yell; but her words were sharp none the less. “The path of darkness is one that is difficult to tread, and if you let those dark emotions consume you, it's easy to get lost. Easy to get swallowed by it. You can't let it control you, you can't get lost in it.” Her voice grew softer then. “You may never get back if you wander too far, or let it's power corrupt you.”

“I'm not weak, I won't let it's power corrupt me!” Riku retorted, feeling is previous feelings of friction towards her returning.

For a moment, Ashi looked down. She sighed, then raised her head back up. Large, black feathered wings burst from her back, the long bottom wings fading to a beautiful, brilliant purple at the tips. They had almost an elliptical design, being larger towards the middle. For a moment, Riku forgot his ire and was lost in how big her wings are, then in their beauty. The back-lit sun radiated off of their inky blackness, painting them an iridescent black, blue and purple hue. She held her left hand out to him.

“Please, come with me, Riku.” Her voice returned to it's usual lull, but her eyes were determined. “If not for your sake, then Sora's.”

Riku snapped his eyes down from her wings, to her hand. For a moment, he faltered. It would be easier just to go back to Sora...right? Find Kairi and her heart together? Then he could be the one to look out for Sora. He could learn magic from Ashi and Shidou. Could learn to master his darkness from Ashi, too. Train with Sora, just like old-times, and--

Sand suddenly blurred his vision. Riku coiled backwards and raised an arm over his face. He was no longer in the Deep Jungle, but a complete wasteland. Ashi still stood before him, but she was different now. Taller, older, _buffer_. She was plating and holding a large katana in both of her hands, and injured. And...she was fighting him.

Riku wasn't in control of his body anymore, but he _was_ wielding a Keyblade. But this wasn't a normal fight; it wasn't sparring or a skirmish. He could feel his heart racing, his blood pumping, his adrenaline through the roof. No...both of them were fighting each other _to the death_. Panic overcame him, and he noticed blood on his gloves, and could feel pain wracking his body. He was injured, too.

Ashi had a huge wound on her stomach and one on her thigh, as well as many across her arms and torso. Riku couldn't tell where exactly he had been injured, but it was just as badly as Ashi. What the hell had happened?! Why were they fighting to the death? How far was this in the future? But they sure as hell had been fighting for a long time! The ground was covered in fresh scars from magic, from them zipping around and cutting into it, from their spilled blood.

And, just as suddenly as it began, it ended. Riku stumbled backwards and gasped for air, no longer in pain, but the adrenaline was still pumping through him.

“Riku!” Ashi gasped, her eyes wide. “Riku, are you alright?!”

“I--” Riku pressed a hand to his face, wondering what the _hell_ he just saw.

 _A vision of your future._ He heard the velvety smooth voice of his Master slither it's way through his head. Riku gasped, his eyes going wide. _Do not trust this so-called former-warlord, Riku. All she knows is bloodlust and war. She will never be your friend. In time, she will kill you. Trust only me._

Riku sighed and ran his fingers though his hair. It was a lot to swallow, especially considering she didn't seem that bad right now. He still didn't know how much he could trust Ansem, but...

_And remember – Sora stole the Keyblade from you as well._

Riku gritted his teeth. “I'm fine.” He turned on his heel and clenched his fists. “Tell Sora I can't join up right now. I...I need to finish some things first.”

Ashi sighed, “...Alright. Just...be careful, Riku.”

“I will be.” Riku replied shortly, throwing her a wave. _I just don't know how I_ _can_ _be...when I have no idea who I can still trust anymore._

 

  
~-~-~-~

 

“I’m sure your friend will be alright,” Jane assured, reaching for the distraught boy, but drew back when she heard a light groan from him. “She seemed very capable.”

The trio had returned to Jane's camp, Tarzan hurrying off to see to his family of Gorilla's deeper in the jungle. Jane had set up a simple dinner for them after hearing what had happened, and was assuring when it came to them waiting for daylight. Much to Sora's chagrin.

Sora slumped on the table, his arms folded against hit and his head folded in his arms. He heaved another sigh. “Yeah…”

“If it weren’t so hazardous out at night, I’d ask Tarzan to try to find her…but he has to protect his clan.” Jane tried to explain, lighting the pilot of one of the lamps on the table, illuminating the eerie night in a warm glow. “I still wish I knew where Clayton had wandered off to…”

Shidou joined them at the table as Jane served simple cold-cut smoked pork on stale bread with hard cheese for their supper. “Worried, about him?” She inquired, grimacing at the quality of the food and poking at it with her finger.

“Of course I am!” Jade retorted, sitting down at the table and crunching into the stale bread, chewing it with some difficulty. She, being very proper, swallowed before continuing, “Clayton may be a bit… _rough_ around the edges…but he is a good person at heart. I know it. But he’s been gone two nights now…I wonder if he’s alright…”

“Prolly fine,” Shidou assured, complete with a broad smile, “He’s got that dang gun, right?”

Jane sighed and hung her head, “I suppose, but…I am still terribly worried. The jungle _is_ dangerous at night and…well, I would search for him myself, but Tarzan doesn’t want me leaving the camp if he’s not with me.”

Shidou reached across and patted Jane’s shoulder, “We’ll find him, Jane. We’ll set out bright and early in the morning and find him!”

“…Ashi too,” Sora added drearily, munching slowly on his sandwich. Even in his gloom, he couldn't resist the growling of his stomach.

“Of course, Ashi!” Shidou chirped, “How much you wanna bet that she’ll just pop out of the shadows, like some kind of horror movie vill--"

“Sorry about running off like that.”

Shidou nearly choked on her food as the voice came from behind her, lurching forward and smacking her chest a few times to get the rest of it down her throat. But once it was down, she whipped around and gawked up at the origin of the voice.

Ashi stood behind them, right as rain. She didn’t even looked the least scuffled by her adventures off on this world alone, as if nothing had happened at all.

“…Kind of like that,” Shidou commented with a sly grin, looking over at Sora.

Sora, meanwhile, looked like a combination of being angered by Ashi running of on her own, and like he was going to burst into tears. He wanted to hug her, but the other half of him wanted to yell at her for worrying them so much. And, in his internal conflict, Ashi strode past Shidou and took a seat at the table as well, sitting beside Jane and across from Sora.

“My! You had us worried for a while there,” Jane commented, preparing one of her trademark stale sandwiches.

“My apologies,” Ashi said in her usual cold tone, “But I felt a powerful, dark aura that I _had_ to trace.”

“Did you find the source?” Shidou inquired, before taking another bite of crusty bread.

“No...but I found someone. Someone important.” Ashi continued, looking Sora square in the eyes. “I found Riku.”

Sora dropped everything and nearly fell over. “R-Riku...?” He questioned, scarcely able to believe it. “He...he's _here?_ ” Really? Somewhere? In this world...?

Ashi nodded, “I recognized him right away, from all of your stories and descriptions of him.” The corners of her lips tugged into a small smile. “It _is_ him.”

“ _Any_ of us could,” Shidou said with a sardonic grin.”

Sora couldn't help but to grin. “Riku!” He exclaimed, leaping over the table and jumping right into Ashi's arms. She let out a startled noise that sounded like a cross between a bird and bunch of whoppie cushions being run over on the freeway, and fell out of her chair with Sora on top of her. “Riku!!! He's alive, he's fine, and he's _here!!_ ” He exclaimed, hugging Ashi tightly and nuzzling his face against her neck and her hair. “Oh my gosh,ohmygosh OH MY GOSH!! _RikurikurikuRIIIKUUU~~!”_

Ashi made another squawking noise and coughed, patting Sora's back. “I...can't...breathe...!!”

Sora realized he was squeezing her to death and blushed, laughing awkwardly and releasing her. “S-sorry...” He rolled off of Ashi and helped her back up. “I-I'm just so excited that he's here!” Ashi furrowed her brows and looked away from him. But...now that he thought about it...where _was_ Riku? “Um...so where _is_ he?”

“I was getting to that...” Ashi coughed, rubbing her sore ribs from the hugginator that was Sora. She looked up and met his gaze. “Riku said he's got some things to finish up first.” Sora blinked a few times and tilted his head. “I'm not sure what, exactly...but he said he's walking a different path. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was _very_ insistent.” With a slight pause, Ashi reached out and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. “I'm sorry, Sora. He does say not to worry though, that he's fine.”

“...Ah...” Sora sighed and drooped down. That _was_ something Riku would do, though. Gosh darn it! Why was Riku such a stubborn loner?! He was always so insistent on being the cool dude, the lone wolf! The show off and the big badass! ...But _god_ did it make him _so cool, so awesome_. Sora huffed and flushed at the thought, knowing he would _never_ be as cool as Riku. But...he couldn't help but to smile. With all of that weird talk about darkness 'n stuff when their world got destroyed...he was still the same ol' Riku at heart! And it was confirmation that he _did_ escape, and was probably trying to be the cool Knight in Shining armor to save Kairi or something on his own. That just lit the fires under Sora to be the first to save her!

“Ah well, that's alright!” He turned back to Ashi and clenched his fists. “I'm just glad he's safe and doing fine!!” He flashed one of his famous, shit-eating grins, “It just means the _race is on_! I gotta find Kairi before him!”

“Sora, I don't think it's a race--”

“ _Yes it is!!_ ” Sora cut her off, puffing his chest out. “We race like this _all the time_ back home!”

“With Kairi as a prize?” Ashi raised a brow, her tone going completely deadpan.

“ _Men_ , am I right?” Shidou added in her own deadpan, looking at Jane.

Jane rolled her eyes. “ _Agreed_.” She then chuckled. “Now come and finish breakfast! You'll need your energy to explore the jungle today!”

 

  
~-~-~-~

 

Night had come full-circle, the group retiring to the tent for the night. Although Jane was still worried about Clayton, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so she might as well sleep. The others curled into their thin sleeping bags, but a small light remained on in the corner of the tent, by the desk.

Ashino sat at the desk, having discarded her long socks and let her pant legs down, as well as her sash and leather bustier for comfortable sleeping. A thinner, under sash held her kimono closed tighter then she usually wore it. A dim light burned in the lantern next to her, though her eyes always saw better in the darkness then in light. She had requested to look over Jane and Clayton's journals, to look for clues. Jane happily obliged, and Ashino was scouring through them to find any sort of hint, any _clue_ as to what the hell was going on, thumbing the charm she wore on her sash between her fingers. She hoped there might be some indication where Clayton had gone.

There was nothing interesting, really. Jane’s was mostly about studying the jungle, about trying to find the Gorillas and her friendship with Tarzan. She was teaching him how to speak English, and how to read. Funny, Ashi didn’t remember learning that language, either; but it seemed to be ingrained in her. Some side effect of her ending up in Traverse Town, perhaps?

But, she digressed.

Clayton’s, however, was different. There wasn’t much in there, probably to hide the fact that he was a _hunter_ from Jane, in case she got nosy. Mostly, he rambled about the Gorillas and how much he despised Tarzan, but…that was it.

Until the last entry.

Ashino leaned forward as she reached the final page. It was scrawled, as if in a hurry, and there was no date, either.

 

 _There’s something_ else _out there. I saw it today. Something far more ferocious then the Gorillas…if that is even possible! What could it be? I must find it! I must have its head as a prize for when I return to England! Where could it be…? The cove by the waterfall! It has to be there! I must go and find it!_

 

“Cove by the waterfall…” Ashino said quietly, reading the line again. What could he have found? “Heartless? Or…something else…” She made a note of the entry and closed the journal, stretching her arms over her head.

The night had grown chilly. Even though they were in the jungle, the nights grew cold, and it was a terribly _damp_ cold to boot. It didn’t bother Ashi, where her world also became sweltering hot in the summer, but bitterly cold in winter – and at night. She always preferred the cold, too.

Before turning the pilot of the lamp off, she looked across the tent and at the sleeping figures. Shidou was snoring loudly, as she usually did; giving off soft murmurs every so often. Jane was asleep as well, if her slow and steady breathing had any notion of it. But Ashino noted that Sora was not asleep yet – and she knew this because he, too, also snored, though on a lesser scale then Shidou did. But he made no sound, and she could see him somewhat trembling under the thin covers of his sleeping bag.

Reaching over her shoulder, Ashino turned the lamp off. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, carefully stepping over those sleeping in the tent and kneeling over by Sora.

“Hey,” She said softly, gently touching his shoulder.

Sora stirred from his position, turning his head up towards Ashi. He gave a small yawn and rubbed his eyes and managed a weak smile.

“H-hey…” He responded in a quiet voice, though tried to keep his teeth from chattering. It was true, he was rather cold right now; so cold that he couldn’t get to sleep. Although it was hardly chilly for the others in the tent, Sora came from a tropical island. He wasn’t used to it getting so suddenly cold at night – or cold at all. Plus, the insulation of his sleeping bag wasn’t much, and the tent had next-to-nothing. But, he tried to put on a brave face for Ashi. “C-can’t sleep, e-either…?”

“I haven’t tried,” Ashi informed, kneeling down besides Sora. She removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it on his forehead. It was clammy and cold; if she didn’t do something to rectify this, he’d likely wake up with a raging fever tomorrow. “You’re sweating and shivering at the same time, Sora,” She said softly.

“W-what? I’m fine, really!” He tried to assure her, even though he knew that he wasn’t. “J-just a little chilled, that’s all!”

“You’re really bad at lying, Sora,” Ashi sighed, removing her hand from his forehead. “I don’t want you getting sick on us.”

“B-but--"

Ashi had rounded the corner to the opposite side of Sora, the side that faced the outer wall of the canvas tent. Sora didn’t have time to fully formulate his response as her warm body slid under the cover of the sleeping bag, her arms around him and pulling him close. Words caught in his mouth as he felt the sensation, especially with the familiar scent of flowers…

“It’s okay to have to rely on others sometimes, Sora.” Ashi spoke softly against the crown of his hair, “You can’t _always_ be the happy one, the one who feels like others can rely on them. You don’t always have to be _strong_ , especially around me.”

“I…I guess…” Sora could barely respond with his heart pounding in his throat, pumping blood directly into his face.

“I know it has to be hard on you, Sora,” Ashi continued, “You lost your home, your friends are missing, and you have this massive burden upon you now. It can’t be easy to cope with, especially so young…”

Sora had managed to gather his bearings at this point, his heart calmed down, though his face was still quite flushed. As Ashi spoke gently to him, holding him in this surprisingly tender and intimate embrace, he felt himself warmed and comforted. Without thinking about it, his arms went around her waist and pulled himself closer, half thinking he did it because of the warmth, though he really knew it was another thought going through his mind.

“So…you don’t have to always pretend to be so strong, and let yourself rely on others sometimes, too,” Ashi gave him a gentle squeeze at this point, “If you need it, come to me. I’ll be here for you, whenever you need it. Whether it’s to laugh or to cry, I’ll listen to what’s going on inside of you and give you a release for it. A…a big sister, I guess. I’ll always be here for you…I promise.”

A promise…Sora knew she would uphold that promise. Even though he felt a little saddened by the big sister comment, it was good to know that someone would always be there for him if he needed it. And lord, did he. So much had happened in the course of a few short days, and it was a lot for a 14-year-old boy to take in at once. It was good to know that he had someone covering his back, and that Ashi – as stoic as she usually was – cared for him enough to open herself up to him like this.

…This was the second time, actually. Ashi had showed herself to be a rather enclosed person, but she had willingly opened up to Sora twice now. A small glimmer of hope flickered within his heart, thinking that maybe this was a sign that something more would come of this warm, intimate moment. A smile came to his face.

“T-thank you, Ashi…” He whispered quietly against her, “I…I appreciate all that you’ve done for me already, I…t-thanks.” He couldn’t quite figure out how to finish the sentence, not without sounding stupid, at least. So, he left it at that.

“Even I’m not sure why I’m doing this, but…you’re welcome, Sora,” Ashi responded gently. “Now, get some rest. I’ll stay here to keep you warm tonight.”

“Mmm…okay…” Sora sighed, closing his eyes, finding himself becoming very drowsy all of the sudden. He nestled closer to her, feeling very warm and safe within her gentle embrace. He could get used to this...

“Good night, Sora.”

 

Even as he fell asleep, he smiled. “Good night, Ashi.”

 


	4. Camouflaged Heart

 

 

Morning came all too quick for Sora, not truly wishing to awake from the comforting embrace of Ashi. He was so warm, so calm, and felt so safe in her arms; and with the soft aroma of flowers that came from her skin, he really didn’t want to leave. But, alas; they had a job to do. They had to find out how to stop the Heartless from advancing in this world; and they had to find Clayton.

After a hearty breakfast, this time prepared by Ashi – much better then Jane attempting to make something from her preserved food, and enhanced by the cook books Shidou had gotten for Ashi in Traverse Town – the group set out. Tarzan arrived at the same time he did the previous day, and with him in tow, the quartet set out to the jungle once more.

 

“But where to look?” Shidou asked, whipping out one of her yo-yo’s to disburse an offending Heartless. “This jungle is _huge!_ Where in tarnation would Clayton have run off to?!”

Ashi twisted her Naginata around in her hands, slashing into one of the monkey-like Heartless in front of her, then jabbed the butt backwards to take out another behind her. “I read his journal last night…he made mention of an alcove by the waterfall.”

“There’s a _waterfall_?” Sora exclaimed, almost excitedly, grinning as his Keyblade cut into the creatures before him, disbursing them into the darkness.

“Don’t you remember seeing it when we chased after Ashi yesterday?” Shidou responded to Sora, coming back-to-back with him.

“Oh yeah…but how do we get there?” He glanced over his shoulder back towards her, grinning.

“Let’s nip this battle in the bud and ask our local!” Shidou chuckled, calling her yo-yo’s back to her hands. Sora grinned, focusing his energy with hers, summoning forth flame from his fingers that traced themselves to Shidou’s yo-yo’s.

They performed their Limit Break as effortlessly as before, the combined power of their magic lashing out and destroying the remaining Heartless in the clearing they were in. Once the last of them had been disbursed by the massive blast of flame, Ashi lifted her glaive and rested it on her shoulder, cocking her head backwards towards the pair.

“Combining magic, eh?” She said almost sarcastically, “Impressive.” She gave a confident nod down at Sora, who flushed at the comment.

“But you have to admit; the kid did pretty dang good for still learnin' and all, right?” Shidou nudged him in the side with her elbow.

Sora beamed with pride at this comment, lifting his Keyblade and resting it against his shoulder. However, his smile faded when Ashino's found expression became serious.

“Pride goes before the fall, Sora. Don't get too overconfident,” She said a stern tone, removing her gaze and approaching Tarzan, who watched with a quizzical expression at the antics of the trio. Sora drooped and felt dejected by the comment. Couldn't he be a _little_ proud of his progress? Man, Ashi sure was a _confusing_ girl…

Ashi stopped before Tarzan and lowered her Naginata from her shoulder, holding it in a more relaxed position at her side. “Tarzan, Clayton mentioned in his journal about a cliff by the waterfall. Do you know where that is?”

Tarzan met her gaze with his own intelligent one. He tilted his to the side as she spoke, and then looked about him. He then looked back up at Ashi and gave a nod of his head. “Follow. Tarzan take.”

“Alright! Now we’re on to something!” Shidou chirped as Tarzan took off into the forest. “Let’s go, guys!” Without another word, Shidou practically _skipped_ after the loincloth-clad native man, with Ashi swiftly following suit.

“H-hey, wait up!” Sora shouted after them, resting his Keyblade against his shoulder and jogging after them.

  
~-~-~-~

 

“That’s the girl we saw in the clearing yesterday.”

As Sora and his friends progressed through the jungle, Riku and his mysterious female companion observed from the shadows once more.

“I knew she was from another world, but…why is she with _him_?” He scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

“It seems as if you’ve _already_ been replaced.” The woman spoke with a sinister air, a cruel smile on her lips.

“No way!” Riku snapped, darting his eyes up to the woman. “You’re wrong! Sora isn’t like that…there’s no way he’d give up on Kairi so easily!”

“How can you be so sure…?” The woman chuckled, looking at Riku with a calm, pointed gaze. Riku gritted his teeth behind pursed lips, snapping his attention back to Sora, watching as he and his friends disbursed the last Heartless.

“You don’t know Sora!” Riku hissed between his teeth, clenching his fists together. “He may have other companions now…but I _know_ he won’t ever give up on Kairi! He’s probably trying to find her, right now!”

“Can you be so certain?” The woman pressed, leaning down towards Riku as she spoke, “How well do you truly know your friend? How can you trust someone who stole the weapon that was meant for _you_ away?”

Riku tensed up as she said this. “You’re wrong.”

“About what?” The woman straightened up, giving a dark chuckle, “About your friend, or your destiny…?”

“There must be a good reason for it,” Riku muttered, more to himself then to the woman. “There must be a reason why he got it and not me.”

“Say what you will, my apprentice, to wish it all away, but you know I speak the truth.” The woman turned away from him, walking further into the darkness. “Sora _stole_ the Keyblade from you…and he will forget all about you and Kairi in due time because of his new _friends_.”

“Hmph.” Riku snorted, turning away from the scene and crossing his arms across his chest.

The woman glanced over her shoulder down at him, “Before we depart…is our new _friend_ ready?”

Riku looked over at her out the corner of his eye, snorting. “Yeah.”

“Most excellent,” The woman smirked, “We shall see how Sora’s new friends handle _our_ creation.” A dark cackle escaped from her lips, slowly fading away as she melted into the darkness. Riku looked over his shoulder, towards the fleeting image of Sora, vanishing into the depths of the jungle.

 

“Be careful, Sora…I can’t protect you anymore.”

  
~-~-~-~

 

A gunshot cracked through the air.

“That sounded close!” Shidou announced, looking up towards the tree lines. “It’s _gotta_ be Clayton! Who else would have a gun out here?”

The group had been following Tarzan for the better part of the day, defeating the Heartless that sprung up along the way. They hadn’t heard or seen any sign of Clayton during their travels, but the gunshot must mean that they were closing in on him.

“Are we almost there?” Ashi inquired down at Tarzan, who gave a rapid nod of his head. “Good. Looks like my hunch was right…and the dark energy I’ve been feeling has gotten _stronger_.”

“We better hurry!” Sora shouted, “He’s probably no match for the Heartless!”

“Lead the way!” Shidou grinned down at Tarzan, who took off into the jungle again. Swiftly, the thick underbrush and trees began to thin out, favoring moss-covered rocks that jutted into the skies. Soon, there were no more trees, and they rapidly rounded a corner into a small alcove.

“Tarzan!!”

The group stopped dead in their tracks as Jane cried out.

The alcove wasn’t as sleepy as it should have been. Clayton stood at the maw, his double-barrel shotgun pointed directly ahead of him. A smoldering hole where he fired rested at the feet of Jane, where she sat protecting a group of Gorilla’s from him.

“Jane!” Tarzan shouted, going to rush forward.

“Not another move.” Clayton’s eerily icy voice snapped, his eyes darting over his shoulder and towards the group. “I won’t hesitate to shoot a woman who is insistent on protecting such _monsters_.”

“They’re not monsters! They’re mammals, just like--" Jane stopped talking as Clayton fired another warning shot into the ground before her, causing her to cry out.

“Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!” Sora demanded.

“She has _everything_ to do with this.” Clayton hissed, reloading his shotgun. “She was protecting the Gorillas, _monsters_ by nature!”

Sora gritted his teeth, “They’re not the monster, _you_ are!!” He shouted, “Now let her go!!”

“I’ll let her go…go forth into the realm of death!!” Clayton cackled, pulling the trigger.

“Jane!!” Tarzan shouted again.

The bullet ricocheted off of a glowing green shield surrounding Jane and the Gorillas. Jane looked up from her position, seeing Shidou standing there. “ _Go!_ We’ll take care of this!” She urged, Jane giving a nod of her head and dashing off with the Gorillas in tow.

“You little, insolent _cretins_ …” Clayton seethed, reloading his gun. “I suppose I’ll have to do away with _you_ as well!” As he said this, darkness coiled around his form and disbursed outwards, summoning a dozen of the monkey-like Heartless that plagued the world.

“W-what the?!” Sora gasped at how suddenly they appeared, swinging his Keyblade around to knock one of the Heartless away. “He can control the Heartless?!”

“Not Clayton!!” Tarzan shouted over the fray. “Look Clayton, but not!”

“The source of the darkness I felt…it was him all along?!” Ashi’s Naginata cut through the air in a wide arc, disbursing several of the Heartless in one fell swoop, “And it’s only growing! We _have_ to stop him, before it consumes him completely!”

Sora and Shidou locked gazes once Ashi had said this, both of them knowing what the other was thinking. Whipping her yo-yos out, Shidou latched onto a wayward branch and swung over towards where Sora stood, backing up against him. Just like before, accessing their Limit Break was easy to come by, the flame of their joint attack lashing out and destroying the remaining Heartless with ease.

With the Heartless out of the way, it left Clayton to deal with now.

All four sets of eyes fell to him; Sora, Shidou, Ashi and Tarzan’s all looked at him with focused gazes. Clayton was too far gone to be intimidated; too far gone to try and write off what he just did with some kind of an excuse, as he usually did. The darkness already had hold of his Heart and had consumed it, making him blind to all else but his obsession.

He backed up against the cliff face of the alcove, with apparently no where to turn. But, before he could be defeated, nor could he surrender, the cliff blasted away as he leaped into the air and hovered there.

Before anyone could react, an unseen force lashed out at the quartet, blasting them away towards the opposite side of the alcove.

“O-ow…what the heck?” Sora groaned, pushing himself up off the ground, looking at Clayton hovering towards them, aiming his gun.

“No time for that!” Ashi shouted down at the boy, lunging forward and managing to swat the oncoming shotgun shell away with her Naginata. “Susano-o _curse_ that gun!”

“But how do we fight something we can’t see?!” Sora said in almost a whining tone, though he was quickly shoved aside by Ashi as another unseen limb cut through the air.

Ashi quickly twisted her body around, lashing her Naginata out behind her and struck _something_. A piercing howl cut through the air, signifying that her blow had been successful. She quickly sprung to her feet again and lunged towards where Clayton hovered, stabbing her polearm into the seemingly empty-air.

Another cry cut through the air, and the area under Clayton began to almost… _shimmer_. Like a mirage on a hot day, the air rippled under his body. Knowing that she had struck home, Ashi called forth her black lighting, surging down her Naginata and entered into the invisible creature.

Another cry came out, and soon the rippling air manifested itself into reality.

“W-what the…?!” Sora gawked.

Clayton rode a giant Heartless that looked like a chameleon. Sora had seen pictures of them in books before; but to see one that was probably close to a hundred times its side was… _unreal_. More over, it bore the insignia of the Heartless upon its breast.

And it wasn’t happy that Ashi had attacked it.

It squealed loudly, and lashed its tail out, smacking Ashi hard in the stomach. She flung to the side, but she managed to flip in the air and land in a crotched position on the opposite side of the alcove. She sprung right back into action as she and Shidou attacked simultaneously. Shidou trapped the giant Heartless by winding her yo-yos around it, giving them a hard yank, pulling them towards the ground. Clayton went flying and crashed into a cliff, sliding down and shaking his head.

Ashi leaped into the air and brought her Naginata down on the Heartless’ head, carving a deep gash within the monster’s skull. Shidou released her yo-yo’s and spun in the air, bringing them down in several rapid strikes down towards the Heartless.

Sora didn’t really have time to gawk at the girl’s supreme teamwork abilities, for they had to deal with Clayton yet.

As the man rose from the ground and prepared to fire another round of shotgun shells at the group, Sora rushed forward. His Keyblade lashed out and hit that damn gun of Clayton’s hard enough to jostle it from his grasp. Tarzan leaped in just then, slashing down at Clayton with his spear, causing a gash to form down the other man’s face. Clayton cried out in pain, grasping his bleeding forehead and stumbling backwards.

“G-gah…!” He wailed, falling back onto his behind, blood from his wound obscuring his vision. “H-help me…!” He cried towards the giant Heartless, reaching a blood-stained hand towards the creature. “ _Help me defeat Tarzan and the Gorillas!!_ ”

The Heartless shook off both Ashi and Shidou’s relentless assault, turning its shifting gaze towards Clayton. Without warning, it lunged forward and opened its giant maw.

By now, Clayton had wiped the blood from his eyes, enough to see that the Heartless had no intent of helping him. He let out a curdling scream as the Heartless attacked him, pulling his heart straight from his chest. In a flash, Clayton vanished into the darkness, and the Heartless consumed his blackened heart.

“By the _stars_ …” Shidou breathed, watching in horror as the darkness in Clayton’s heart became so great that the Heartless he tried to control turned on him. “…He was a bad person, but I—I _never_ would have wanted…”

“That’s what happens when you let the _darkness_ take control of your heart,” Ashi reminded, twisting her Naginata into an offensive position, “But we don’t have time for this! We can mourn later!”

The chameleon Heartless growled deeply, its form shuddering and then growing in size. Consuming Clayton’s heart had given the monster new strength, and as it turned around to face its opponents, it quickly vanished from sight.

Stealthily, it lunged towards Sora and Tarzan, one hand lashing out from each direction and hitting the two male warriors, causing them to collide together. The Heartless snapped around and smacked the duo with its tail, sending them soaring into the air.

“Sora!” Ashi shouted, the Heartless coming out and attacking the pair again, sending them higher.

Tarzan managed to reach out and grabbed onto a wayward tree branch, swinging down towards where he _thought_ the Heartless was. However, he ended up going through nothing but air, landing roughly on the ground besides Shidou. Sora, meanwhile, was still flying in the air, and either the Heartless intended to smack him back down, or let gravity finish the job.

Ashi leaped into action. She sprung into the air, and a startling sight tore from her back. Two large bird-like wings appeared from her shoulder blades, it's long black feathers faded into purple at the tips. Trails of blood followed from the wounds in her back, and the unique almost circular design of her wings allowed her to take off into the air with ease.

Sora managed to right himself in the air, taking in all he had learned while training in Traverse Town into account. He saw the black-winged Ashi fly up towards him, her hand outreached towards him.

It seemed almost… _ethereal_ , right in that moment. The sun was shining down from behind Sora, and this illuminated visage was flying towards him. Sora didn’t even realize how high up he had been flung, or the pain he felt from getting hit so hard several times, just the eyes of Ashi.

Her hand encircled around his right when he began to fall towards the ground, pulling him close. The embrace felt warm, comforting; and so familiar…

However, time suddenly sped up as the camouflaged Heartless attacked the pair, hitting Ashi in the back. She lurched forward in the air, giving a surprised groan of pain; but her hold around Sora was firm.

“D-damn…this isn’t looking good,” She muttered down at him, flapping her wings and turning sharply around in the air. “I can barely even sense it…and it’s gotten a lot stronger.”

“Well, it hasn’t stopped us before, right?” Sora managed a grin up at Ashi, despite the fact that he ached all over from the Heartless' relentless assault.

“I suppose not.” She looked down towards the ground, her wings flapping slowly, lowering them down. Once she reached it, she placed Sora down and looked up. “Since you picked up on it so easily…let’s try a...what did Shidou call it? A Limit Break?”

Sora looked ahead of him and nodded, watching as the air shimmered to reveal the monstrous Heartless before them. “Yeah!”

Its mouth opened wide and begun to charge a magical attack. As it did, Ashi and Sora stood back to back and closed their eyes. Once again, he relaxed himself and searched for Ashi’s aura. He had felt it surge through him once before, in Traverse Town a few days ago, but that was…different then a Limit Break. No, last time, Ashi forced her powers through him; this time, they needed to combine them together _willingly_.

For a moment, Sora felt her aura enter into him, just as it had before. But something felt… _different_ this time. Once again, the scent of flowers filled Sora’s nose as familiarity within Ashi’s aura entered into him; but he just chocked up the familiarity to feeling her energy a few days prior.

The moment vanished when Sora opened his eyes, feeling their joint power combine together.

Fire surrounded his form, engulfing it with flame; but the fire didn’t hurt him. Instead, it only made him stronger and faster then ever before. Ashi, too, was surrounded in power – a chilling aura surrounding her and ice crackled up her arms.

The pair charged forward, weapons drawn towards their foe. Sora and Ashi lunged at the creature with remarkable speed, cutting through the beam the Heartless had fired. Their combined attacks sliced through the monster again and again, each time they would slash and spring away from each other, only to meet over and around the Heartless to strike from both angles. The Heartless shrieked loudly in response, but Sora and Ashi’s relentless attacks did not stop.

Finally, Sora and Ashi leaped away from the Heartless, standing side-by-side. Black ice and flame coiled around their respective weapons, before they thrust them forward and released a massive blast of their combined magic out towards the Heartless.

The blast exploded with black, blue and red energy, consuming the giant chameleon. However, it wasn’t fully defeated.

Thankfully, the duo had Shidou and Tarzan to count on. Shidou lashed her yo-yos out around her, spinning and cutting into the fallen Heartless. Tarzan, meanwhile, lashed forward with all of his might, the two attacks combining together to destroy what little remained of the Heartless chameleon.

It burst into darkness, a shadowy heart rising out of its destroyed form, vanishing into the air.

Sora fell to the ground beside Ashi, panting heavily. “W-wow…th-that was intense!” He gasped with a laugh, his comment directed towards the Limit Break he and Ashi had shared. “I didn’t think I could get so strong!”

Ashi chuckled, also out of breath. “I-I've never done that before, but I've heard about it! That was _fantastic_.” She reached down and helped Sora back up to his feet, “And...you’ll be getting a lot stronger yet, Sora, if I have anything to say about it.”

“Heh heh…” Sora chuckled, releasing his hold on the Keyblade, which vanished into specks of light. “Say, Ashi…why didn’t you tell me about your wings?” He inquired, looking up at the black, feathery things. They were relaxed against her back, but moved and twitched periodically.

“You didn’t ask.” Ashi shrugged. Her wings mimicked the gesture. Sora found the additional gesture kind of...cute, actually, and felt his cheeks begin to burn. But Ashi noticed his glance and sighed, her wings drooping a bit. “They're...painful for me to summon. Even more to get them to return to my back...” She grimaced and looked back at them, one of them raising up as if to say it wasn’t it’s fault.

“Oh…” Sora blinked, and watched as they retreated back...inside of her? How did that work? But if it was painful, Ashi didn't show it on her face.

“Tarzan?” Jane called from outside of the alcove, dashing in when she had heard that the ruckus had stopped. The Gorillas, surprisingly, followed after her.

“Jane! Okay?” Tarzan hobbled over to her, looking at her with concern.

“I’m fine, so is your family…what about you?”

“Tarzan fine.” Tarzan nodded.

“What of…Clayton? I don’t see him anywhere…”

“Oh, that,” Ashi sighed, scratching her head, “Well, you see--"

Shidou slid in right then, clamping her hands over Ashi’s mouth, causing the other woman to glare at her. “We tried to save him, but, that giant monster ate him all up.” She spoke with a low, sorrowful voice, “He tried to control it, like a zoo animal, but it couldn’t _be_ controlled.”

“Oh…” Jane looked a bit…well, _surprised_ would be the best word. “…I…I’m not…sure what to say now…”

“He’ll be someplace happy now, with all of the game he can hunt!” Shidou encouraged, removing her hand from Ashi’s mouth. “Right?”

“Right!” Sora added, though Ashi didn’t say anything to that; even though they all knew his heart had been surrendered to the darkness and…well, that was the end of that, wasn’t it?

The head Gorilla approached Tarzan and made a few grunting noises. Tarzan gasped, and then looked over to Sora. “Kerchak, says Sora go. Find friend.”

“My friends?! They’re here?” Sora exclaimed, his face brightening, especially since he _knew_ Riku was somewhere around here.

“Friends, here.” Tarzan said, and then made some noises. He pointed up towards some underbrush, leading to the waterfall. “Tarzan home, here. Jane come, too!” He turned to Jane and smiled, reaching for her hand, which she happily took.

The group was lead up some stumps to what appeared to be nesting grounds for the Gorillas. Jane gasped in wonder, “Oh my…family groups! This is fantastic…just as my father theorized! Oh, he will have wished to have seen this…”

“Are my friends here?” Sora asked Tarzan, who gave a shake of his head and repeated the same animalistic grunts he had before. “Where are they?” Tarzan blinked up at him, and then pointed to the waterfalls.

“Sora go. Find friends.”

Sora looked towards the waterfalls, then back at Tarzan and smiled. “Thanks!” And with that, he took off, with Shidou and Ashi in tow.

As the trio neared the waterfalls, they discovered a cavern hidden behind it. Several erosions were carved out of the cliff the waterfall fell down, making almost a…ladder, of sorts.

“I'll, uh...stay here.” Sora looked back to Ashi when she said that, and she looked a bit uncomfortable. “I-I want to make sure everything is settled. With the darkness.” She didn't offer anything else, jogging away from the waterfall and returning to where Jane was fawning over the Gorillas. Sora blinked at her sudden departure.

“Somebody doesn't like water?” Shidou blinked, “Wait, that can't be right...she's already set up a flower and herb garden by the pond back in Fuku.” She scratched her head, “Huh, weird.”

“I-It's probably the darkness, like she said?” Sora offered. He figured it was best to leave Ashi to her own devices. “Anyway, let's go find my friends!” Without a second thought, Sora began jumping from rock to rock, quickly scaling to the top of the waterfall face. It looked like all of his hard training in Traverse Town had paid off!

Once the trio reached the top, Sora blinked his eyes and tilted his head. “A cave?” He inquired, observing the dark opening. “They have to be in here! It’s safe from the Heartless, right?” He looked back at Shidou. She flashed a thumbs up at him. “Alright, lets go!”

However, upon entering the cavern, instead of finding Riku and Kairi, Sora found a massive tree, illuminated by the opening overhead. Beautiful, blue butterflies flitted around a portion of the oak tree, which glowed an eerie blue color.

Sora looked about the cavern. “Riku? Kairi? Are you here?!” He shouted, looking somewhat frantic. There was no place for them to hide, and he didn’t see any signs of life. “Riku! Kairi! Answer me…please!”

“They’re not here, kid,” Shidou sighed giving his shoulder a pat. “Wonder what Tarzan meant, though...”

Sora hung his head in defeat, heaving a heart-heavy sigh. “…I-I guess not…”

“Did you find them?” The trio turned around when the heard Jane’s voice, as she and Tarzan approached from behind the group. Sora looked over at Tarzan with a confused expression.

“No…but Tarzan! You said they were here!”

“Friends, here.” Tarzan said again, followed by the same grunting noises. “Here. Always here.” Once again, he made the same noises.

“…I think I know what he means, Sora,” Jane explained softly, looking at the lad with a gentle expression, “Those noises Tarzan is making…they must mean ‘heart.’ He’s saying that, no matter how far apart you are, your friends are always in your heart.”

“Oh…” Sora blinked, looking down at his chest, resting a hand there. “…I guess that’s true, but…I have to find the real ones! They’re out there…somewhere! I know it!” He managed to smile at this, feeling new confidence bolster within him.

“That’s the spirit, Sora!” Shidou cheered, giving Sora a hearty smack on the back, causing the youth to lurch forward. “Keep your chin up, and you’ll find them for sure!”

“T-thanks, Shidou,” Sora chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

“But, hmm...I wonder what this thing is!” Shidou approached the tree, placing her hand on the glowing portion in the center of it. As soon as she touched it, the Keyblade formed within Sora’s hand. The butterflies flitted away from the glowing area, which quickly changed shape into what appeared to be a keyhole. “…A…a keyhole? Who would put a diddily dang keyhole in a tree? Can't lock a tree, can you?” She blinked.

“Whoa!” Sora exclaimed, the Keyblade acting on its own. It lifted up so it pointed directly towards the keyhole, a strange light glowing at the tip of it. “W-what the heck…??” He questioned, watching the light exit the tip in a steady stream, entering into the keyhole. Light gathered around the orifice, before the sound of something closing, or locking, followed. The light from the Keyblade vanished, and it, too, disappeared from Sora’s hands. “…That was... _weird_ …”

“Weird, but cool!” Shidou chirped, tottling over to the item that the keyhole spat out. “Hmmm! It looks like a keychain to me!” Shidou observed, “So, why not give it to the boy with the giant key for a weapon?” She smirked, tossing it at Sora.

“Um…okay,” Sora muttered in a confused tone, holding is off-hand out and calling for the Keyblade again. With his other hand, he noticed that there was a clasp holding the current chain on his Keyblade. With a snap, he pulled it, off, and replaced it with the new one he got. “Wah!” He exclaimed, the Keyblade flashing a brilliant color within his hand, then faded away to reveal that his Kingdom Key looked _completely different_. It felt different too, somehow…stronger, even. “Whoa…far out!” He exclaimed, giving it a few test swings. “This is awesome!”

“…Man, this Keyblade thing sure is confounding,” Shidou muttered, scratching her head, “But kind of cool at the same time. I wish _my_ yo-yo’s did that!”

“It’s been quite an adventure with you new comers!” Jane exclaimed, somewhat awe-struck at what she had witnessed, “But…I suppose we must part ways, shouldn’t we?”

Sora gave a nod of his head, “Yeah. I have to find my friends! I won’t stop until I find them, and defeat the Heartless!”

“I was a pleasure meeting you, Sora, Shidou. Oh, and Ashi too, wherever she wandered off to. I wish you safe travels!” Jane said with a warm smile.

“Nice meetin’ya too, Jane and Tarzan!” Shidou chirped, “We’ll stop by again sometime! Help you with that research, like we _said_ we would…”

“…Sora, go?” Tarzan asked, hopping over to the boy.

“…Yeah. But, we’ll visit sometime! Right?” Sora smiled over at his companions. Shidou flashed another thumbs up and a smirk. “Well, take care guys!”

And, with that, the trio darted off, out of the cavern and back into the vast, new world.

“…I do hope they succeed in doing what they look out to do,” Jane whispered to Tarzan, who smiled and nodded in response.

  
~-~-~-~

 

Once again, Sora found himself on the ship form Fuku, together with Ashi and Shidou. It was still hard for him to believe that Fuku was both a cute, fuzzy animal, and a spaceship. That had an entire environment inside of her, complete with a friendly little cottage where the trio slept and trained. Including a bedroom tailored to look just like his room back home. Oh, and there was the garden Ashi was working on.

Thankfully, Sora was given some time to recuperate before he would continue on his training. Despite the fact that he fared better then he had the last time they fought a monstrous Heartless, he was still _exhausted_. All of that running around the jungle didn’t help, either; plus he had learned what a Limit Break was, which was even _more_ exhausting then usual magic!

Sora dragged himself inside the cottage and flopped on the couch, heaving a deep sigh. Could he take a nap right now? He totally wanted to take a nap. Shidou pulled up a chair beside him and grabbed the remote to her floating, holographic TV and began to flick through the channels. She was obsessed with soap operas and weird period dramas, he had learned. Not his cup of tea, but he was so tired he'd watch anything.

TV was one of the many entertainments on Fuku. Shidou had a whole entertainment room – where they were now – complete with music, movies, and table top games like ski-ball and pool. She also brought along board games and had a few gaming systems that made Sora a bit jelous. Fuku had also given him a copy of his trusted DS from home, as well as every single Pokemon game in existence – even the ones not designed for the system! He was in heaven. Plus, all of the nature to explore! Fuku's interior covered many acres and was primarily forest, his first time seeing one. There was also some hills and a small mountain, as well as a water fall into the river that ended at the pond in front of the cottage. He had no shortage of things to do. When he wasn't training, of course.

Also, somehow, WiFi worked here too. He could trade with people somehow, and even PokemonGo on his phone worked. At this point, Sora knew not to ask questions. Fuku was a wonder and he wasn’t going to complain!

“So whaddya feel like watching?” Shidou asked, quirking her head over to Sora, “Sports, some kind of sitcom, uh…maybe there’s a movie or two…” She sighed. “Millions of channels and still nothing to watch...”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. To be honest…I actually don’t watch a lot of TV…”

“Ah…well, I get that!” Shidou grinned, passing by some kind of a nature show about a weird looking creature, “Too busy, ya’know? Well, aside from my usual shows.” She looked over her shoulder to Ashi, who was folded up in one of the arm chairs with a book. Ashi sure did like to read...she had blown through at _least_ 10 books since they arrived on Fuku, and the TV still scared her a bit. It was kind of cute to see her so nervous around it. “Trainin’s out for now, I guess.” Shidou looked back to Sora, “So, what _do_ you do for fun back home? Aside from Pokemon, of course.”

Turns out Pokemon was a universal thing. Shidou played too, and so did lots of other people across the worlds, he realized.

“Well…” Sora tilted his head back, propping his legs up on the coffee table “Off the main island everyone lives on, there’s a smaller one where all of the kids go every day to play, especially during the summer.” He found himself smiling in remembrance. “Riku and I would just explore, have adventures, even duel sometimes! And when Kairi came about ten years ago, she fit in real well with the two of us, though she never sparred. There were other kids, too…Selphie and Wakka were the two others we played with the most.”

“Ah…man, that sounds like fun,” Shidou grinned over at Sora, “Being a kid is great! I never had much of a childhood, though.”

“Oh?” Sora blinked, looking back at her, “Why do you say that?”

She gave a small roll of her shoulders, settling back into the couch, “Been training with my Master for some time now! But I mostly run his errands, go on missions for him; basically I’m his eyes _outside_. Dude doesn’t get out much, heh.” Shidou flashed a smile down at Sora, kicking her feet up onto the table. “But, it’s okay! I like being busy and going out there and exploring. I’d rather be doing this, helping stop the Heartless, then have a normal childhood.”

“Wow...” Sora mused, imagining what it would be like to be an errand boy for a powerful Master. Come to think of it… “Say, Shidou...what _is_ your a Master a, uh...master of, exactly?”

“Err,” Shidou flashed him a sidelong grin, “Well, shave my back and call me an elf! I never explained, eh?” She slapped Sora on the back, though what she said confused him. She didn’t have back hair! Did she? “He’s a master of magic. An expert sorcerer! Tho many people back home just think he’s a crazy old man who lives in a haunted tower.” She shrugged. “Not that he denies it’s haunted or anything. He’s weird and likes his space from, like... _literally everyone_.”

“So cool...” Sora sighed, wishing he was the apprentice of a sorcerer. Well, technically he _was_ , just not a master sorcerer. Did Shidou and Ashi count?

“Anyway, I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for anything!” She grinned at him, “Plus I got to meet you _and_ Ashi, as much of a sourpuss she is.” Shidou paused and blinked, “Well shucks! Now _I’m_ starting to call her that!”

“Ashi just suits her better, doesn't it?” Sora grinned, looking back at her. Ashi was so engrossed in her book she didn't hear them. “Wish I knew more about her...”

“Eh, she comes from a troubled background, always fightin' in wars and all.” Shidou folded her arms behind her head. “She's probably slow to trust, and slower to talk about her past. Seen 'em before. She'll tell us when she's ready.”

“I guess…” Sora sighed, wondering why she was such a tough nut to crack. Well, part of him knew, but there was more to the story besides fighting in battles and wars so much. “I want to be the first to find out, though! What she’s really like under that icy stare…”

“Good luck with that, kiddo,” Shidou cocked a smirk at Sora, “I've seen her grin or smirk, but nothing like...genuine, ya'know?”

“Just you wait, Shidou, I’ll get her to smile yet!” Sora boasted, also smirking over at Shidou.

“Man, one thing I can say about you, kid…you’ve got a hell of a spirit!” Shidou chirped, smacking him on the back again.

“Heh heh…I try,” Sora chuckled, flicking his nose with his index finger. “So, uh...” He muttered, looking back up at Shidou, “Want to play some Pokemon Stadium?”

“You bet your buns I do!” She chirped, whipping out the gaming system before Sora could blink. “I hope you're prepared for me to kick your toosh at Clefairy Says!”

 


	5. Becoming a Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Into the Coliseum, with a new Final Fantasy character making an appearance! It's not Cloud, I wonder who it is...?

 

“Wow, looks like some kind of a stadium!”

Shidou stood in front of Ashi and Sora on a dusty field, the sun shining brightly down through the white clouds overhead. She had placed a hand to her forehead, protecting it against the rays of the sun and squinting at the arena before them. As usual, a grin was plastered on her face. Ashi looked less then amused, the bright sunlight hurting her sensitive eyes. She currently wore a circular, wide-brimed straw hat of sorts that looked like it came right out of a period samurai movie. Which...well, she _did_ come from.

“For like, sports?” Sora added to Shidou's comment, a grin also on his face as he studied the massive entrance way before them. Two giant gold statures of men with swords extended out over the entrance, signifying whoever built this had _money_.

“Judging by the architecture…maybe for something a _bit_ more extreme then sports!” Shidou laughed, lowering her hand and crossing her arms, leaning back on her heels and grinning over at Sora. “Probably a combat arena.”

“Whoa…!” Sora exclaimed, his eyes gazing up to the giant gold statures before them. This place sounded like someplace he might find Riku; and since he missed his friend when he was in the jungle with Tarzan a week or so ago, maybe he could find him here!

“I’ve heard about this place,” Ashi commented, tilting her hat slightly to admire the gold statures, “Apparently, it’s fully aware that other worlds exist outside of theirs…and people from other connected worlds come here to compete.”

Sora’s grin brightened as Ashi said this. Yeah, he had a good chance of running into Riku here! “Well, let’s go inside!!” Without another word, he quickly went towards the entrance way to the coliseum, full of his usual enthusiasm.

“Heh…gotta say, the kid’s got some spunk!” Shidou chuckled, hurrying after Sora. Ashi sighed and shook her head, following the duo inside. After all, she didn’t sense any Heartless around; there was no need to rush.

Sora reached the front gate and placed his awkwardly large hands against the heavy wooden doors, giving a grunt and shoving them open. There was an inner wall that lead to smaller doorways; one on the middle and two on each side. Considering how he figured the arena was set up, Sora figured that the two outside doors probably lead to the spectator area, while the middle door lead to the arena itself. So, he went straight for that door and gave it a push, hearing Shidou and Ashi following behind him.

But, the door didn’t lead directly to the arena; instead, it lead to a small room that was probably a prep area for the competitors. There were two shelves along the wall, adorned with torches, and a large pillar beside one of them. The entrance way to the stadium was roped off with a giant “CLOSED” sign on it.

“Aww, man…!” Sora gave a heavy sigh, hanging his head as he saw the sign.

“What’s up?” Shidou asked, walking in behind Sora.

“Looks like it’s closed right now…” Sora mumbled, pointing towards the sign that hung over the door.

Shidou looked over at the door. “Ah…well, fooey, right?” She gave Sora a pat on the shoulder.

“…You could talk to that thing over there,” Ashi noted, pointing over towards one of the corners of the room. Sora looked up and followed her gaze, seeing the most…well, _interesting_ creature he’s seen in a while, aside from the Heartless.

On a pedestal over what looked to be a posted rule guide was a short, impish thing. It appeared to have the body of a man with the legs of a…goat, maybe? Complete with horns coming out from behind his ears, over his receding hairline. Sora tilted his head and blinked his eyes a few times. Man, his adventures to other worlds certainly did present him with all sorts of odd, cool-looking things he’d never have encountered back on his Island. Looked like something out of a fantasy game, honestly. Ashi looked as surprised as he was by the creature.

Sora approached the half-man, half-goat and tapped it on the shoulder. “Um, excuse me?”

“Finally!” The creature spoke in a gruff voice with a heavy accent - though what that accent _was_ could be debatable; “About dang time! Do me a favor and move that pedestal over to the other corner, will ya?” He didn’t turn around to face Sora at all, but merely pointed towards the out-of-place pedestal.

Sora blinked again, glancing back at Shidou and Ashi. Shidou gave a shrug of her shoulders and Ashi quirked a brow, having slid her hat off and allowed it to hang by it's string around her neck. Sora figured why not, so he walked over to the pedestal and placed his hands firmly upon it, and gave it a shove.

And a shove.

And another shove.

Sora found that the pedestal was so secure to the ground that he couldn’t even _budge_ it! He gritted his teeth and grunted, pushing harder against it. He dug his feet into the ground and tried using the extra force of them to push it, but to no avail. He even tried to shove his shoulder against it, but nothing worked.

“Jeez! How hopeless are _you_?” Shidou laughed, causing Sora to glare over at her. She chuckled and went over to help him, trying to shove the pedestal too. But, even with their combined forces, the pair couldn’t budge it. “Man! This is pretty heavy! Ashi, want to lend us a hand?” She looked over at the stoic woman, who shrugged and came over. Even with _her_ , the trio couldn’t get the dang thing to budge.

“This thing weighs a ton!” Sora panted, giving up and sliding down to the ground. “How the heck does he expect us to move this?!”

“Jeez Louise! No kidding, man!” Shidou slumped down to the ground again, though she was still smiling, “Talk about a hopeless effort!”

“Ask him how he expects us to move this thing, Sora,” Ashi told him, placing her hands against the top of the pedestal to catch her breath. “Physical force isn’t going to cut it.”

“R-right…” Sora sighed. Once he regained his breath, he stood up and approached the goat-man creature and tapped him on the shoulder again.

“What’s with all of that ruckus?” The creature snapped, still not looking over at Sora. “Stop dawdling around and get into gear! Can’t get ready for the games with you sitting on your bum, you bum!”

“Err…” Sora blinked his eyes in confusion again, “W-we tried to move it, but it’s too heavy! How do you expect us to do it?”

“Too heavy?! What kind of nonsense--" The goat-man exclaimed, turning around and then immediately stopped talking. He was looking _up_ from where he stood, and once he realized that there wasn’t anyone there, he looked down to find Sora. “…Oh. Sorry, kid, I thought you were someone else.”

Sora breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know that they didn’t need to move that heavy pedestal after all. “Oh, that’s okay! We were wondering about the games.”

“Sorry, kid, but they’re closed up for now!” The goat-man informed, crossing his arms. “Besides, a pipsqueak like _you_ ain’t cut out for my games!”

“H-hey!” Sora exclaimed angrily, “Who are you calling a pipsqueak?! You’re smaller then I am!”

“Yeah, but if you can’t move a piddley old pedestal like _that_ , then you’re no match for the competitors here at the Coliseum!” The creature proclaimed, hopping off of the pedestal he was on and marching over to the heavy one. Shidou and Ashi moved out of the way as he approached, and he placed his hands on the column and pushed. “No one can claim to be good enough to--" He stopped however, since his efforts couldn’t move it. Grunting, he turned around and pressed his back on it, trying to move it that way. “--Too...” However, he realized that he couldn’t move it and gave up, slumping to the ground. “Okay, so it ain’t as easy as it looks. But just lookin’ at you and your rag-tag buddies tells me one thing…you guy’s ain’t cut out for this place! Only heroes can compete!!”

“Who says I’m not a hero?!” Sora pouted, crossing his arms. “I’ve been chosen by the Keyblade, and--"

“Keyblade?!” The goat-man cut him off, looking somewhat surprised. “Did ya just say that?”

“Yeah? What of it?” Sora snorted, still feeling offended by this creature’s judgmental attitude.

“Huh. Maybe you’re not just a scrawny kid after all…” The goat-man mused, stroking his chin.

Ashi and Shidou looked at each other, and then back down at the creature. “It sounds like you’ve seen a Keyblade before…” Ashi stated, giving him a pointed look. The goat-man returned her gaze, giving a nod of his head.

“Of course, toots! I had some people compete back in the day who could use ‘em.” He informed, crossing his arms. “Became Champ too!”

“R-really?” Sora asked, wondering who this other person was. “Where are they?”

The goat-man shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me. It’s been ten years since I’ve seen ‘em. But, if they can do it…maybe you can too, kid. But!” He walked over to Sora and grabbed one of his noodley arms, giving it a shake and dropping it. “You ain't going to be a champion _or_ a hero with those flimsy arms of yours! If you want to hope to become strong enough to compete in the games, you gotta go through Phil’s Expert Training first!”

“Expert…training?” Sora blinked his eyes a few times, tilting his head to the side. He had _already_ been put through the ringer by Ashi and Shidou, and still ached from the last round of training that ended only a few hours ago. He could only wonder what this little goat-man could do _besides_ that.

“Any kid can become a hero with Phil’s training program!” The goat-man boasted, sticking his flabby chest out. “I’ve trained the best of the best! Ever heard of Hercules?!”

Sora blinked his eyes a few more times, arching an eyebrow over them. “…No?”

“…Zack?” Phil added with some skepticism.

“Nope.” Sora shook his head.

At this point, Phil wasn’t looking too optimistic. “…Achilles..?” He muttered under his breath.

“Not a clue!” Sora managed to force a laugh, scratching the back of his head.

“Ugh, you’re hopeless, kid!” Phil heaved an exasperated sigh, shrugging his shoulders dramatically. “Whether or not you know ‘em is _besides_ the point! They were all great heroes in their time, and I trained _all_ of ‘em! And if you ever want to make it in my games…” He pointed dramatically to Sora as he continued, “You gotta undergo my expert training!”

“Err…” Sora blinked again, then cocked his head back towards Ashi and Shidou. But, before he could get their input, Phil grabbed him by the arm and yanked him into the stadium. “Ack!” For such a portly little creature, Phil was _surprisingly_ strong.

“Alright!” Phil announced, once he fully dragged Sora into the arena without warning. “If you wanna be a hero like our man Herc, you gotta get to basics, kid!” Sora didn’t have much time to respond when, with a snap of his fingers, a bunch of old pots and some barrels appeared. “You gotta use your noggin’ sometimes, not just your brawn!” To this, Sora inwardly noted that Ashi and Shidou had _already_ taught him that. “So, you have to destroy _all_ of the urns and barrels before time runs out! Got it?”

“B-but what does this have to do with--"

“Two words!” Phil cut Sora off, extending his hand out and raising two fingers. “Hand-eye coordination!” Sora counted the amount of words on his fingers, but didn’t get a chance to remark when Phil, _somehow_ , whipped out a whistle and blew it.

"Ack!" Sora exclaimed. He was caught completely off-guard with how _suddenly_ Phil had started the challenge. Sora stumbled forward, hastily calling forth his Keyblade and rushing towards the offending barrels and pots.

"I'm kinda surprised we don't have _this_ in our training regime back on Jurai!" Shidou chuckled, plopping down on one of the stone bleachers and folding her arms behind her head, giving a bemused grin over towards Sora. "Good to get the hand-eye coordination up, but to also to make quick, on-the-fly strategy! The goat may have a point, here!"

"Sora needs to keep on his toes," Ashi noted, seeing the boy struggling to see how to smash all of the barrels and pots within the limited time-frame. "I have a feeling we may be here a while." Sighing, she took a seat beside Shidou and placed her hat back on her head.

"Time's up, kid!" Phil announced, catching Sora in mid-swing. "Not bad, but you gotta do better! Do it again!"

"B-but--" Sora went to protest, but the whistle blared again and, once more, he wasn't presented much choice. "Oh for--!" He groaned, lunging forward and swinging his Keyblade at the barrels again.

This continued on for several rounds, and Sora just didn't seem to be getting it. Again and again Phil told him to start over, and Sora was quickly running out of steam.

"Again!!" Phil barked, ready to raise his whistle once more and blow it, ordering Sora to start over again.

"Enough already!" Sora protested in a whiny tone, huffing at Phil, "I'm _exhausted!_ I don't see how you expect me to get this done! It's _impossible!_ "

"That ain't the Hero's spirit, kid!" Phil snapped back, "Try and try again! You ain't going to cut it if you give up now!!"

"But it's impossible!"

"Nothing's impossible!" Shidou chirped, "You're just going at it from the wrong way!"

Sora shot a glare over at her, "Well, I'd like to see _you_ try!"

"Fine, I will then." Ashi rose from her seat and pulled out her Naginata. She approached where Phil and Sora stood, turning on her heel and facing forward.

"Well, well...quite the _pretty_ one you've got here!" Phil muttered up at Sora, eyeing Ashi up and down. He completely failed to notice the displeased glare that was on her face, of course. Clearing his throat, he walked over to Ashi and turned to face her. "Well, toots...if you _really_ want to dirty such a pretty face--"

His voice caught in his throat as Ashi pointed the blade of her Naginata down at him. "Call me 'toots' again, and I'll make sure you won't speak again."

"E-e-err..." Phil muttered, hastily raising his hands in defeat. "R-right um... _miss_...are you sure? This here is expert training!"

"I can handle it." Ashi assured, though her voice retained it's usual coldness. She lifted her glaive from Phil and rested it against her shoulder. "Blow the whistle."

"Well, if you say so..." Stepping back, Phil withdrew his whistle again and gave it a tweet, signaling the time to start.

Sora sat down beside Shidou as he watched Ashi rush forward. With a quick swing of her Naginata, she smacked a barrel aside and hurled it towards three others, causing all four of them to break. Hitting the one beside her, she caused it to fall onto it's side and roll towards a cluster of pots. With another swing, she used it to knock them over and, in the same motion, twirled and hit another barrel aside.

Sora's jaw fell open as Ashi quickly smacked barrels aside and soon, with quite a bit of time to spare, completed the challenge. With a snort, she lifted her Naginata up and rested it against her shoulder, casting Sora a sideways glance.

"'Impossible,' huh?" She commented in a dry tone. The corners of her lips quirked into a smirk. Cooly striding forward, she approached the bleachers and sat beside Sora.

"See, kiddo, you're totally doing it the wrong way!" Shidou noted to Sora, "Here, you're just focusing on what's in front of you. The real key of this test is to test your noggin'!" She knocked on her skull to demonstrate this point. "You gotta act fast in battle, and find the best solution! _That's_ what this is training is all about!"

"B-but...I-I'm not very smart--" Sora started to protest.

"There's no reason why you can't do this, Sora," Ashi said, causing the boy to look up at her. "You're already showing signs of this in combat. You just need to not panic and focus. It's not impossible."

Although her voice was still it's usual stoic lull, it was nice to have some assurance from Ashi. Sora grinned slightly and gave a nod of his head. "T-thanks, Ashi. I'll try again!"

"That's the spirit, kid!" Phil shouted encouragingly, watching Sora leap off of the bleachers and call forth his Keyblade. "Let's start this again!"

Sora gave a nod of his head and looked forward, falling into a ready stance. With a tweet of the whistle, he rushed forward and quickly began to build his plan of attack. Although his ability to do this wasn't as sharp as Ashi's was, he still executed it just the same. With each swing, he managed to knock more and more barrels down, and shatter more of the pots.

Soon, and with only moments to spare, Sora finished the course. With a cheer of victory, he pumped his fist into the air and shot his gaze down over to Ashi, who gave an approving nod of her head and a faint smile. Shidou was clapping enthusiastically beside her.

"Nice, kid! You did it!" Phil cheered, Sora turning his attention back to him.

"Does this mean I can participate in the games now?!" Sora asked enthusiastically, a broad grin across his face.

"Not a chance!" Phil shouted, crossing his arms across his chest. Sora instantly drooped.

"W-why not...?!" He exclaimed, looking on at the goat-man with disbelief. "I finished your training!"

"Yeah, and you've got potential...but you're still a _long_ way from being a hero!"

"B-but--" Sora tried to protest.

"You have to show me more then this to prove you're ready for the games, kid!" Phil cut the boy off again, shooting a determined glare over to Sora. "So you gotta do more training and come back to me, and maybe _then_ I'll talk to you about joining the games!"

"I--"

"I guess we better give up for now," Shidou said behind Sora, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We can come back later, kay? We'll have you beefed up in no-time, kiddo!" Sora sighed unhappily and hung his head, his shoulders drooping. "I don't think Riku is here, anyway. We would've run into him by now if we was."

Sighing, Sora nodded his head slowly. "Y-yeah, I guess you're right..."

"Come on, Sora, let's go." Ashi said. Sora looked up at her and sighed again, giving another small nod. With that, the trio exited the arena with Phil behind them.

"Come back again, kid! We'll do some more training next time!"

But, Sora pretended not to hear. He grumbled under his breath about how he _was_ a real hero as he and his new companions exited the vestibule and into the entry way of the arena. He still felt down in the dumps, even with Shidou's re-assurances. He really _wanted_ to play the games, even if Riku wasn't there; just to prove himself to Ashi that he _wasn't_ some kind of a lost cause! But, like Shidou said...they could always come back later. He was far from fully-trained, but he could feel himself get stronger every day.

Maybe he was even as strong as Riku now!

But, Sora was brought up from his thoughts when a voice called from the shadows; "Hey, you guys there!"

The trio looked towards the direction of the voice. Shidou arched an eyebrow, "Who's there?" She asked, peering into the darkness.

A man emerged...a very _strange_ man. He wore all dark robes and had light blue skin. His hair was actually made of soft blue flame, and he had a somewhat... _sinister_ appearance to him. But, he flashed a friendly smile towards the group and opened his arms to them as a warm gesture.

But, Ashi narrowed her eyes. Neither of her companions seemed to notice, though.

"Hey, why the long faces?" He commented, eyeing Sora in particular.

"Oh...Phil won't let us into the games," Sora commented in a glum voice, feeling depressed all over again.

"Oh, oh! Yeah, that little _goat_ has some strict rules! But!" The man lowered his arms and came closer towards the group. He leaned down towards Sora, still grinning, "But, rules can always be broken, right?"

"H-huh? What do you mean by...?"

"I can get you into the games, kid!" The man stated, standing back up to his full height, "Bada-bing, bada-boom! It'll be a _chinch_ to get you what you want!"

"R-really...?" Sora's face lit up as the man said this, a smile returning to his face.

"Really! 100% guaranteed!" The man assured.

"How can you do that?" Shidou asked, an eyebrow still raised.

"Look at _this_!" Snapping his hand out, in a wisp of smoke formed a ticket, which he held out for them to see. "An _entry_ ticket into the preliminaries!"

"A-and you'll really give it to me, mister?!" Sora was practically bursting with excitement at this opportunity.

"Of course!"

Shidou seemed slightly suspicious of this, however. "And...what's the _catch_?" She muttered, her eyes shifting from the ticket to the man's face.

"Catch? Who said anything about a _catch_?!" The man laughed awkwardly, as if he really _was_ hiding something. "There ain't no catch! I'm going to give it to you _free_ , no strings attached!"

"...I don't like this..." Ashi whispered in a tone that only Sora could hear. He looked up at her, noting her intense eyes, but quickly disregarded it. Ashi was just being paranoid, as usual! This guy seemed trust worthy enough, plus he was going to give them the ticket for _free_. How could this go wrong?

"Awesome!" Sora exclaimed, leaping in front of Shidou and taking the ticket from the mysterious man. "Thanks a lot, mister!"

"No problem, kid!" The man chuckled, taking a few steps back. "You guys have fun at the games! They're...to _die_ for!" The last phrase was said in a sinister tone, though Sora failed to notice it. With a grin, he looked between his two companions and burst forward, rushing back to the vestibule, bursting with excitement.

Shidou cast a sideways glance at the strange man, then followed after Sora. "Hey! Wait for us, Sora!" She exclaimed.

Ashi kept her gaze locked on the mysterious man, even as her companions vanished into the main gates of the arena. "...I don't know who you are, or what you want...but you will _not_ hurt him." She hissed the warning, causing him to chuckle awkwardly in response. Slowly, she followed after Sora and Shidou, keeping her gaze on him until she could no longer, vanishing into the gates of the Coliseum.

"...Huh, I coulda sworn I've seen her somewhere before..." The man noted, scratching the side of his head, "Well, whatever! She's not going to throw a monkey-wrench into _my_ plans! Heh heh...you're going to be _history_ , my little Keyblade-slinger!" And, with a dark cackle, the man vanished within a plume of smoke.

  
~-~-~-~

 

"Phil! Phil!"

Sora charged into the vestibule at full-tilt, which was surprisingly fast for someone with such noodley legs. The goat-man turned around and spotted the overly-enthusiastic teen barrel towards him, stopping short and resting his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

"Whoa, slow down kid!" Phil hopped down from the pedestal he was standing on, walking over to Sora, "What's the rush, huh? Charging around like you're possessed ain't going to do ya much good!"

"P-Phil...I...I got..." Sora tried to speak between his heavy pants, too excited to wait to catch his breath.

"Take it easy! Whatever you got to say can wait, kid!"

At this point, Shidou had skidded into the vestibule herself, stopping just short of Sora. "Man, you run pretty fast for such a small guy, kiddo!" She laughed, as she was not quite as winded as Sora was.

But, Sora was unable to contain his excitement. Even though he had to catch his breath, he just couldn't _wait_ to tell Phil the news. He withdrew the ticket the mysterious man had given him, holding it out before Phil.

"Eh? What's this?" Phil grabbed at the piece of parchment, studying it for a moment. "Whoa, this is an entry ticket into the preliminaries! How the heck did you get something like this, kid?" He lifted his eyes up and store at Sora skeptically.

"T-there...w-was a...a..." Sora had regained some of his breath, but not enough to talk fully.

"Save your breath for the preliminaries, kid!" Phil waved off whatever reason that Sora was about to say, handing him the ticket back.

Sora perked his head up and store at Phil with wide eyes. "R-really...? Y-you mean it...?!"

"'Course! I dunno how you got your mitts on this...but it's legit." Phil informed, walking over to the entrance way to the coliseum. "Welcome to the games!"

Sora's face lit up at this, standing upright as he had finally caught his breath. Grinning like a fool, he pumped his fist in the air, "Alright!" He chirped, feeling excitement tingle at his fingers.

"Looks like we're in, huh?" Shidou planted one of her trademark too-hard smacks against Sora's back, causing the youth to lurch forward slightly, "This could be fun! A great learning experience, too, kiddo!"

Phil marched towards the sign that hung over the door, lifting it up out of his way. "I gotta go finish preparations for the preliminaries," He informed the group, stepping into the arena, "Stay put until I call for ya!" Sora watched him walk off with a grin on his face, excited to test his metal against whomever they would face in the games.

"Well, I guess we hang out here until it's time, huh?" Shidou leaned against one of the pillars, folding her arms behind her head. At this point, she noticed that Ashi had wandered into the vestibule, but had remained silent behind the trio. "Hey, Ashi! Nice of you to finally show up." Ashi cast Shidou a sideways glance just before Sora spoke.

"We're going into the preliminaries, Ashi!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, practically _skipping_ up to her and grinning with wide, bright eyes. "Oh man, this is going to be _awesome!_ Reminds me of the days I'd spend on the beach with my friends!"

"...I don't like this," Ashi commented in a quiet tone, folding her arms across her chest and casting a glance to the side of the room.

"Huh? Why not?" Sora lowered his enthusiastic pose, staring up at her with a perplexed expression. "Don't you want to fight in the games here?"

Ashi sighed and unfolded her arms, looking back down to Sora, "It's not that, Sora. Under a normal circumstance, I would want to participate, but..."

Shidou unfolded her arms from behind her head and pushed off of the wall. "What's up, 'Shi?" Oddly enough, her tone was more...serious then normal. Sora glanced over at her, wondering if she picked up on subtle changes to Ashi's usual mood.

“First off, don't call me that. ‘Shi’ means Death in my native language,” Ashi snapped, causing Shidou to smile awkwardly, "Secondly, that man...his sudden appearance, giving us a ticket without any strings attached...it's all too _convenient._ " She informed, meeting Shidou's careful gaze.

"Y-you're just being paranoid, Ashi!" Sora laughed awkwardly, "That guy seemed nice enough." He paused, looking up at her more closely, noticing that her brows were furrowed together...was she nervous? "Right...?" He asked skeptically.

"I don't think so, Sora...his aura, it's--"

"Alright! We're good to go!" Phil suddenly cut Ashi's response off, the trio looking over to him. "I got it set up for the first round of the preliminaries! Are you guys ready for some action?"

In that moment, Sora's excitement burst from the seams again, completely forgetting Ashi's concern. "You bet!"

"Sora, I don't--"

But, he was already entering the stadium. Ashi heaved an exasperated sigh, going in after him. Shidou came up beside her, glancing at the other girl with a worried expression.

"Ashi, what do you think is waiting for us in there?"

Ashi sighed again, her fists clenching, "I don't know...but I don't think we'll like it, either way."

  
~-~-~-~

 

"We've had a change to our little... _arrangement_."

From the shadows of the waiting area for the Coliseum contestants, the blue-skinned man lingered with another person, a pale-skinned woman. They watched as Sora and his companions faced down against the first round of contestants - a group of what appeared to be trained Heartless.

"What more do you want from me?" Came a soft, hollow voice from the young woman, her pale eyes trained on the fight.

"Ah, but you see, things change!" The man, Hades, chuckled darkly. A hand placed itself on the shoulder of the young woman, giving it a hard squeeze. Hades leaned closer to the woman, who didn't move or flinch against his action. "You see that kid with the giant key? I need him out of the picture, too."

"Why are you so afraid of him?" The woman responded, "He's just a _child_ , Hades. I won't kill a boy."

"Oh, you think I can't raise the stakes, hmm?" Hades said in a fluid tone, dripping with sinister darkness from every word. He walked behind the young woman, approaching the other end of the area. "Our deal was you get rid of Herc, I bring back one of your friends from the dead, right? Since they all perished when your world got destroyed!" The young woman shot an icy glare over her shoulder at Hades, though Hades didn't flinch. "And, of course, I will uphold that end of the bargain, Celes! I may be the Lord of the Dead...but I am a God of my _word_! But...if you get rid of the kid with the Keyblade..." He suddenly appeared directly behind the young woman, Celes, and whispered darkly into her ear. "I'll bring your _boyfriend_ back."

Celes let out a gasp, her eyes widening. Hades chuckled again, standing beside her. "And, with this one-time-only deal...get rid of that brat, and you'll get two for the price of one! You get a dear old friend _and_ your boy-toy back." Celes gasped again at this, jerking her head around to stare Hades directly in his eyes. Hades smirked over at her, and for a moment, Celes looked away. "Do we have a deal, my friend?" Hades extended his right hand outwards for the woman to take.

Celes sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Giving a sigh, she reached out and touched a blue bandana tied around her wrist. Opening her eyes, she met Hade's gaze again.

"...Deal."

  
~-~-~-~

 

"Man, this is awesome!" Sora exclaimed after the semi-finals of the preliminaries. They had cut through wave after wave of Heartless without too much trouble. Granted, Sora was still tired from the almost non-stop fighting, but it was a _good_ kind of tired. "See, Ashi...there isn't anything for you to worry about!" He looked up at her with a broad grin, only to discover her brows were still furrowed.

"I don't know, Sora...I have a bad feeling." She informed, meeting his gaze.

"Oh, come on! We're almost done with the preliminaries, and nothing bad has happened yet!" Sora protested with a slightly whiny tone. "What more could happen?" Ashi gave a small shake of her head in response, though looked up as she heard someone approach.

The young woman with pale skin approached the group. She was willowy and tall, with long blonde hair that cascaded down her back. Torn fabric hung from her waist, and in her hand she carried a long, thin, curved blade. Her pale eyes focused intensely upon Sora. Despite her lithe form, she had an _incredibly_ powerful presence and a fierce determination in her eyes.

"W-we have to fight... _her_?" Sora muttered to his companions, though he couldn't lift his gaze from those icy eyes.

"We have to be careful, Sora...her aura is _massive_." Ashi cautioned in a low tone, her fingers tightening around the shaft of her Naginata. "She will be no push over."

"Yeah, I don't see _any_ openings in her stance!" Shidou noted, shaking her wrists to keep them nice and loose when she let her yo-yo's fly.

Once Celes stepped into the arena, she lowered lifted her blade up and rested it against her shoulder. Despite the seemingly relaxed pose, she had little openings within the stance.

And, with a tweet from Phil's whistle, the battle began.

If it hadn't been for Ashi's swift move to parry the oncoming blow from this mysterious woman, Sora probably would've been knocked clear into the sky. Celes moved with such speed and precision that Sora barely even _saw_ her move, with her thin blade arching downwards.

Ashi caught the blade against the shaft of her Naginata, though even with her two hands supporting her weapon, they shook violently against the strength that this young woman possessed. For such a frail weapon and form, this woman was _incredibly_ powerful! "Ashi!" Sora exclaimed.

"It is no use," The woman said in a hollow tone, "You cannot hold against me. Stand aside, my quarrel isn't with you."

"I won't let you get past me!" Ashi hissed between clenched teeth, trying her hardest to push back against the force Celes was putting against her Naginata.

"You are no match for the strength of a General of the Empire," Celes stated, placing her other hand against the hilt of her sword, barring down further against Ashi. " _Stand aside_." She urged again.

The blade of his weapon suddenly jerked to the side. Shidou had lashed out her yo-yo's and encircled them around the elegant sword, pulling against it to release Ashi from the weight she placed upon her.

Expressionless, Celes twisted her blade around in her hand and pointed it towards Shidou, releasing a massive wave of frost that coursed down the strings of the yo-yo's. They became icy and fridged, rapidly shooting towards Shidou's hands. With a gasp, she released her hold on the strands, leaping backwards as a massive wave of ice appeared where she stood.

Celes easily pulled her sword free and rushed at Shidou at blinding speeds. With her sword twisted, she slammed the pommel of it right into Shidou's gut with enough force to cause a squirt of blood to escape from the smaller girl's lungs. Removing it from her abdomen, Celes spun around and struck Shidou against the side of her head with the pommel, easily knocking her downwards. Lowering her sword, she went in to slash against Shidou.

Celes stumbled, a short blade buried into the back of her shoulder blade. She turned around when Ashi pulled the blade of her Wakazashi out and lunged at her again, this time carving a gash down her arm. Celes cried out and leaped out of the way, holding her bleeding arm.

“You're not the only General here!” Ashi spat, lifting her hand up and summoning multiple astral forms of her dagger, flinging them towards Celes.

Grimacing, Celes stabbed her blade down into the marble of the arena, summoning a shimmering shield around her. The astral blades Ashi kept flinging at her bounced off and dissipated into the air. Ashi quickly stopped her onslaught and sheathed her Wakazashi, using the butt of her Naginata to launch off of the ground and shoot into the air.

Celes lowered her shield and waved her hand over her arm, healing her wound on it. However, she noticed Ashi dive-bombing her from above before she could heal her shoulder. Raising her sword, she braced herself for impact.

The blade of Ashi's Naginata hit the blade of Celes' sword. With a yell, the samurai released a violent burst of energy down at the other general. However, instead of damaging the other woman and destroying the arena around her, Celes' sword began to suck the energy into it.

“What--”

Ashi didn't get a chance to fully respond when Celes kicked her off and, swinging her sword around, she released the same energy her sword had absorbed. Only it was greatly magnified, becoming a huge blast of swirling violet-and-black energy. The other woman didn't have time to defend herself when the lighting hit her, creating a large explosion and sending her backwards and into one of the pillars surrounding the arena. Ashi slid down the now-leveled pillar in a heap.

Instantly, Celes turned her gaze upon Sora. With a mighty swing, she brought her blade down towards the smaller boy, who managed to gather up enough momentum to leap out of the way. But Celes easily swung the blade around above her, baring it down upon Sora again.

With a yelp, Sora stumbled out of the way again, his eyes going wide as Celes' sword created a large slash within the marble of the arena. What the _heck_ was this lady on?! She used such a delicate weapon so expertly that she cut through _marble_! How in the blazes were they supposed to defeat her?!

Celes looked up from her gash, gripping her sword with two hands and thrusting forward. Her blade would have surely pierced through Sora without any problem, if it weren't for a familiar green aura appearing around him, easily deflecting the blade.

Celes glanced over his shoulder and towards Shidou. She knelt to the side of the arena, hand extended outwards and panting heavily. A trickle of blood flowed from her head. Rushing forward, she grabbed her now-thawed yo-yo's and lashed them towards Celes in a rapid fashion.

One of the blades managed to catch some of her hair, causing the young woman to reel backwards, ready to draw her blade. However, she didn't get that far, as Ashi sprung forward and caught the sword within the crook of her curve of her Naginata, and twisted it around to disarm it.

The curved sword went flying in the air, and the daughter of a samurai warlord and a captain of the guard upon her, Celes looked doomed. Sora figured the fight would be over with soon.

But, Celes had her own reason for wanting to win.

As her sword flew into the air, light suddenly began to trace itself around Celes' feet. Suddenly, even Sora began to feel an intense aura of magic building around Celes, her eyes focused on her weapon. Time slowed as more light traced itself into an elegant circle below her feet, looking surprisingly similar to one Yuna had used back in Traverse Town.

Raising her arms in the air, ethereal angel wings sprouted from Celes' back, shooting her into the air and towards her weapon. Once her fingers encircled it, the circle vanished and time continued at it's normal place. Twisting her blade in her hand, Celes allowed gravity to take over as she drove the blade into the ground, releasing a massive wave of icy energy that knocked the trio off of their feet.

Rising from the ground, Celes lifted her blade up over her shoulder again, turning her gaze towards Sora. The boy was struggling to get to his feet, placing the blade of his Keyblade down against the ground in attempt to rise up. Slowly, Celes approached him.

"I don't know why he was so afraid of you," She commented, her cold gaze meeting the determined gaze of Sora's. "You're young, and weak. I feel sorry for you...but I have to do this. I _must_..." And, lifting her sword up, she swung it down towards the weak and helpless young teen.

Or, at least, she _thought_ Sora was helpless.

Sora managed to bring his Keyblade up and met the offending swing of the elegant sword, holding the blade of his weapon with his off-hand. The sheer force of Celes' swing managed to push the boy backwards several feet, forcing him down onto one knee. But, Sora persisted; he held the blade at bay amazingly well, despite how over-powered he was at this moment.

"It is no use," The woman urged, her tone becoming more forceful then it was before, "You aren't a match for me. Give in, and it will be quicker."

Sora gritted his teeth together, trying to find enough strength to stave Celes' blade off. "I...I won't...give up!" He grunted between his bared teeth, finding just enough energy to summon forth his flame magic, releasing a burst from his Keyblade and out towards the surprised young woman before him.

Celes, unprepared to absorb the blast, lifted her blade up and staggered backwards. Sora took a moment to gather his breath, removing his hand from the shaft of his Keyblade and gripping it firmly with both hands. With a shout, he charged forwards towards the still-stunned Celes, lashing out and knocking her sword aside. However, Celes was a skilled warrior, and easily used this to her advantage. She swung her blade around and brought it back down towards Sora, who managed to roll out of the way just in time. The blade cut into the stone of the arena, releasing sparks friction to the sides.

Managing to spin around, Sora pointed his Keyblade towards Celes, who lifted his sword up once more, staring down at the young warrior.

"...Strange," She murmured, more to himself then to Sora.

Sora arched an eyebrow upwards, "...What's strange?" He asked, but Celes simply left that statement as it was.

By now, Shidou and Ashi had both recovered from his previous attack, and Shidou was about to leap into the fray, and would have if Ashi didn't hold her hand out to the side. Shidou shot a pointed gaze up towards her partner, Ashi quietly observing the sudden duel between Celes and Sora. Pursing her lips together, Shidou looked forward towards the pair, finding herself trusting in Ashi's judgment once more.

Lowering her sword to the side, Celes began to charge towards Sora, dragging the tip of the blade across the stone arena. Time began to slow down to a crawl as the young teen watched the woman rush towards him, intent on running him through with her mighty sword. Sora knew he couldn't outright over-power Celes - neither in magic or might - so he would have to use his brain to win this fight.

But how?

Sora wasn't all that smart to begin with, so how could he outsmart this incredibly powerful and skilled warrior before him? But, as he watched Celes draw near, something... _clicked_. The sweep of her sword was coming around in a wide, low arch; the velocity of the blade would be diminished due to how wide the arch was. And, as Sora's eyes looked past Celes and towards the cool, confident gaze of Ashi, he began to formulate a plan.

Time resumed it's normal course as Celes lashed out with her blade, slashing towards Sora. Sora leaped backwards and, with a running start, jumped towards one of the spires that rested at each point of the arena. Placing one of his feet on it, he launched himself higher, running up the stone pillar; and with another push of his other foot, he launched himself up and over Celes' head, just as her sword pierced straight through the pillar, causing it to crumble.

Sora managed to get himself twisted in the air so he faced towards Celes' unguarded back, landing firmly on the ground several feet away from the young woman. Raising his Keyblade up, Sora suddenly chuckled it at Celes in such a way that the Keyblade began to spin in a rapid circle.

Just as Celes began to turn around from her attack, the spinning Keyblade struck her square in the chest, which sent her flying backwards by several yards. The elegant sword flew from her hand and spun in the air, landing straight into the sand behind her.

Sora came forward, holding his right hand out as his Keyblade re-appeared in his grasp, and pointed the tip of it down towards Celes before the woman could rise up. Sora started grinning like a fool, knowing that he had defeated Celes without much help from his companions.

"Alright, the match is done! Sora, Ashi-no-Hotaru and Shidou win!" Phil announced after a sharp twill of his whistle. "You guys are going to move on!"

"I guess I win then, huh?" Sora chirped, calling off his Keyblade. Celes began to rise up, but stopped when Sora extended one of his large hands down. Celes was taken aback by this gesture, staring first at the hand, and then up at the friendly grin on Sora's face. "Come on, just because we fight in an arena doesn't mean we have to hate each other, right?" Sora encouraged.

Celes paused, glancing at the blue bandana around her wrist, and then took Sora's hand. It took all of the kid's muscle to haul the much larger woman up to her feet, "You're...more then I expected," Celes admitted once she had fully risen. "And yet, even though I tried to kill you and your friends...you still try to help me?"

Sora laughed and scratched the back of his head, "W-well, it was just a game, right?"

"I--"

"You did it, kiddo!" Shidou's sharp chirp cut Celes off from whatever she was going to say, the girl tackling Sora hard enough to cause him to stagger, the wind knocked out of him. "Jeez, I didn't think you had it in you, but look! You beat this skilled general single-handed! I couldn't be MORE proud!" She laughed at this, giving Sora a noogie before releasing him from her iron death-grip.

Sora took a few deep breaths in, giving a chuckle as he spoke, "Y-yeah, I can't believe I did it, either! Pretty cool, huh?!" Grinning, he folded his arms behind his head.

"You're better then I thought, kid," Phil announced as he approached the group, "I didn't think you'd beat this lady, but you did! Congrads!" To this, Sora only grinned more, letting loose a playful chuckle from his throat.

"You did good," Ashi said with a gentle smile, walking up behind Sora and gazing down at him with her pale eyes. "I think you're--" However, her voice caught in her throat as her head jerked over to the far side of the arena.

"Of all the stupid, worthless, _idiotic_ things!!" A dark voice bellowed across the arena. A moment later, the blue-skined figure from before appeared in a puff of red smoke, his hair flaming with an angered passion. His golden eyes instantly flashed over towards Celes, who matched his gaze with an icy glare. "I paid you to do a _job_ , wench! A tiny, minuscule job of getting rid of the kid with the Keyblade! But noooo~! No, you had to go and _ruin_ it all by letting him live!!"

Celes' gaze darkened. "I won't kill him, Hades. He's too good."

Shidou leaned down towards Phil, who was looking quite pale right now, "W-who is this Hades guy, Phil...?"

"A-are you _kiddin_ ' me?!" Phil stammered, taking a few cautious steps backwards, "He's only the Lord of the Underworld!"

"...Sounds like a charmin' guy..." Shidou muttered, eyeing the figure as he gritted his fanged teeth together.

"WHAT?!" He screamed, his entire body turning a blazing red, his hair bursting forward like a towering inferno. "How can you back out?! I thought I had made a _perfectly_ reasonable deal with you, Celes!!"

"Deal's off, Hades!" Celes hissed, "I will not give into the darkness to defeat such a child! You're just as bad as Kefka!"

After letting loose another growl, Hades let out a sigh and returned to his normal color, though his eyes still blazed at Celes. "Alright, alright, fine! But you know what?" His gaze darkened, "You can _bet_ you'll _never_ see _any_ of your friends again! Let alone your _lover!_ I'll make sure of it..." Turning on his heel, Hades began to walk off. As he left, he raised a hand up above his head, snapping his fingers.

A portal of darkness appeared, and from it jumped an absolutely _massive_ three-headed dog. "Get _rid_ of this trash here, Cerberus!" Hades commanded, before vanishing into a puff of black smoke.

"W-wha-what the _heck_?!" Sora shouted, his eyes going wide. "H-how are we supposed to defeat _that_?!"

"Get back!" Celes shouted, reaching out and taking her blade from the ground.

"B-but--" Sora protested, looking up at the stoic young man before him.

The dog charged forward, fangs bared down towards Celes. Celes stood in an offensive position, but in rushed another figure; a muscular brute of a man who caught one of the dog's heads with his bare hands, holding it at bay.

"A-about damn time, Herc!" Phil shouted.

"Sorry, I got delayed!" The brutish man shouted in an oddly high-pitched voice, shoving the dog backwards several yards, "You guys get out of here!"

"B-but we have to help...!" Sora protested again, even though he was shaking from the mere _size_ of that giant hound.

"He's right, kid!" Phil shouted, "I've got three words for you: RUN AWAY!"

"Come on, kid!" Shidou shouted, grabbing Sora by the arm and pulling him away from the fray. Sora glanced back as the muscular man punched the dog in the face again, batting him over towards Celes, who slashed at it with her sword. But, he didn't protest, especially when Ashi followed suit.

Moments later, they arrived in the vestibule. "O-oh man, that guy was _bad_ news!" Shidou panted, looking back towards the entrance where they could still hear the fight going on in the background.

"I knew he was up to something fishy..." Ashi noted, folding her arms across her chest. "It sounds like he hired that Celes character to kill you, Sora..."

"W-well, I guess it's a good thing she changed his mind!" Sora laughed awkwardly, gnawing on his lower lip. There was a loud thud from outside, causing the entire building to shake. "...W-why are we standing around here, anyway?! We need to help them!"

"No way, kid!" Phil shouted, "You ain't no match for something as powerful as Cerberus! Trust me, Herc is going to handle it!"

"Can he really handle it on his own?" Ashi noted, looking down at Phil.

"Sure thing! That guy's beaten the Hydra, Titans, all _sorts_ of things in his time!" Phil stuck out his chest with pride, "He's a true, bone-fide _hero_!"

"But he could use our help!" Sora protested, "Even a _hero_ needs some back up sometimes!"

"No, absolutely not!" Phil shouted up at Sora, "Kid, it would be _suicide_ if you went in there now!"

Sora gnawed on his lower lip again, looking out towards the entrance to the arena. There were more thuds and earth-shaking sounds, but no yelping of a dog. Clenching his fists together, he summoned his Keyblade again. "...It doesn't mean we can't _try_!" He shouted, charging past Phil, Keyblade drawn.

"H-hey, didn't I just tell you--"

"Wait for us, kiddo!" Shidou shouted, rushing past Phil as well.

Ashi approached Phil calmly, looking down at him, "...You have to give Sora credit for his enthusiasm, at least." She flashed him a smirk, and joined the others as they charged back into the fray.

The battle, as it turned out, hadn't been going well. Celes was unconscious against Hercules' shoulder, her sword jammed about two feet into one of the walls surrounding the arena. Sora dashed forward and stood in front of the brutish man, Keyblade brandished, somehow managing to fight back the terror he felt facing down such a demonic creature.

"Get her out of here!" Sora said over his shoulder towards Hercules, "We'll take it from here!" Right on cue, Shidou and Ashi appeared at his sides, their weapons drawn and ready to fight.

Hercules gave only a small nod in response, running into the vestibule with the injured Celes. And, with him gone, the mighty Cerberus store down at the trio with it's six, blazing red eyes.

Without warning, the demonic dog rushed forward, fangs bared down at the trio, looking to make them into it's next snack. Sora managed to roll under the ravenous heads, while Ashi and Shidou leaped off to the sides. While under the massive creature, Sora jabbed his Keyblade up to try and bash it, but...it didn't really work the he had planned. It felt more like he was hitting a solid brick wall with his Keyblade! Just how strong _was_ this thing?!

Ashi and Shidou were on top of things, as always. They had both leaped into the air and, back-to-back, performed their own limit break. Shidou lashed her bladed yo-yo's down at the creature, digging into it's black flesh and causing the massive dog to yelp in pain. Ashi released charges of her black lighting down the strands of the yo-yo, quickly surrounding the monster and shocking it.

In the air, Ashi twisted her Naginata around and shot downwards, bringing the blade down into the back of Cerberus, dashing along it and dragging her weapon along it's back, charging it with dark lighting. Once she reached it's head, Ashi leaped off and Shidou prepared for the final attack. Swirling her yo-yo's around herself, she charged green energy, creating a cyclone of power. With a yell, she thrust it downwards towards the dog, causing an explosion of green energy and black lighting across the monster's back.

Sora had taken this opportunity to get out from under the creature, and decided to give a little muscle of his own. The creature let out a holler once Ashi and Shidou finished their attack, collapsing to the ground. He had seen Ashi charge her weapon with lighting and ice before, why couldn't he do the same? Holding his blade to the side, he focused his magic on his weapon, finding it easy to attack the flame to his Keyblade. Once done, he charged forward with a yell, bringing his Keyblade down on the side of the massive beast, causing a nice eruption of flame from his blade, wounding the creature even further.

But, all it did was actually piss off the monster even _more_ then it already was. With a growl, one of the heads snapped out and hit Sora square in the chest, sending the boy flying across the arena.

He would have collided with the far wall of the arena, if it were not for Shidou's quick thinking. Her glowing green shield popped up around him, the energy of the barrier absorbing the shock of the collision. The barrier vanished around Sora as he landed on his feet, though it didn't stop him from hunching over and holding his stomach.

"You okay kid?" Shidou shouted over at him over her shoulder, while her yo-yo's flew at the rabid, monstrous dog before them.

"F-fine!" Sora lied through his teeth, trying to swallow back the pain he was in. He had to keep focused and keep going; Shidou and Ashi needed him!

But how in the heck were they supposed to _beat_ this thing?!

Forcing himself to stand upright, Sora watched as his companions fought as hard as he had seen them fight, but they didn't do much damage in the long run. That demonic dog was _way_ too powerful! Ashi was jumping and dodging it's rapid attacks, about all she could do from getting eaten by the creature. Shidou remained afar and lashed out with her yo-yo's, but they didn't do much in the way of damage. What could be this thing's weakness? How could they defeat it?

But, as it opened one of it's giant maws to try to devour Ashi whole, Sora got an idea. Glancing down at his Keyblade, he tightened his fingers around the handle and looked back up at Cerberus. Pursing his lips together, Sora rushed forward, holding his Keyblade out at his side.

He rushed past Shidou, who shouted after him, "Be careful!" Quickly, he closed the ground between him and the demonic creature, summoning forth his fire magic and forcing it to surround his Keyblade. He neared the center head, which quickly turned it's hateful gaze down towards the lad.

The dog opened it's giant mouth, fangs bared and dripping with devilish intent. As it went down to bite at Sora, the kid stopped abruptly and chucked his flaming blade _right_ towards the creature's mouth. Quickly, he ducked out of the way as the chops came down, and quickly a displeased expression came to the creature, smoke pouring out of it's snout.

Sora focused his magic, since he knew he didn't have much time before the Keyblade would appear in his hands again. Pointing his open palms towards Cerberus, he forced the flame to rapidly combust with enough force to cause the insides of the monster to lurch, the dog releasing a piercing cry of pain.

Just as the Keyblade flashed into Sora's hands again, Cerberus fell down to the ground, defeated.

"What in Enma's name was..." Ashi murmured as she quickly snapped her attention down towards Sora, who was making a disgusted face and trying to shake the slobber off of his Keyblade.

"Well, I'll be danged!" Shidou said with an awkward chuckle, bringing her yo-yo's back to her palms and replacing them in her pockets. "I can't believe that just happened...!"

Ashi holstered Naginata and approached Sora, who took a brief moment to look away from his dog-slobbered weapon to glance up at her. "...Did you just... _throw_ your Keyblade _inside_ of that thing?"

"...Um...yeah?" Sora blinked his eyes in confusion.

"...And...you somehow caused a magical _explosion_ to happen...while it was _inside_ of it?"

"...Yes??" By now, he was wondering what Ashi was getting at with these questions.

"Sora..." Ashi sighed. At this, Sora expected to be met with a disapproving comment and called off his Keyblade. With another sigh, Ashi closed her eyes and gave a small shake of her head. After this, she opened them again and chuckled, placing her hands on his shoulders. "That...was _amazing._ "

"Wha--" Sora turned bright red at this comment, completely dumbstruck at Ashi's kind words. Gulping, he reached a hand up and scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze from Ashi. "Y-you r-really think so...?" He asked sheepishly, glancing up at her from the corners of his eyes.

"Yes," Ashi affirmed, her tone becoming much softer then it usually was, "It was _brilliant_. You were quick thinking, resourceful, _and_ you were able to control your magic _exquisitely_." She squeezed his shoulders, drawing his attention back up to her. "I...couldn't have done it better myself. You're improving _tremendously_ in such a short amount of time, Sora. I'm...proud of you."

Sora met her gaze, his face becoming a deeper shade of scarlet. "R-really...?"

"Really," She said with a small nod of her head. Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she released him and turned on her heel. "We should probably let Phil know everything's alright now."

"O-oh...r-right!" Sora gave a nod of his head, hurrying after Ashi and falling into pace beside her. Shidou grinned and folded her arms behind her head, tailing after the duo.

  
~-~-~-~

 

"...And for your valiant defense of the Coliseum by defeating the ferocious Cerberus, I officially dub thee _Junior Heroes!_ "

Sora couldn't help but to grin from ear-to-ear when Phil read of the official statement to the trio, with Hercules standing behind him. Although it was somewhat disheartening to be considered a _junior_ hero, it was good to hear the word "hero" come out of Phil's mouth.

"We did pretty good, huh?" Sora boasted, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at Phil.

"I gotta admit," Phil stated with a nod, rolling up the piece of parchment he was reading off of, "I didn't think you could defeat something like Cerberus so easily! But here you are, kid! You're on the right track to being a _real_ hero!" To this, Sora grinned and chuckled, his pride swelling at the compliments.

"And what did I say about being over confident?” Ashi stated, though it was hard to tell if she was teasing or being serious. Her expression certainly was the latter.

"Awww, why do you always have to ruin my fun, Ashi?" Sora whined, but quickly stopped when he got a cold glance from the older woman. He was starting to get used to how she wasn't very easy to understand.

"Anyway!" Phil coughed, breaking up the tension between the pair, "I gotta close the arena down for an undetermined amount of time! Sheesh, you did good kid...but it's a _mess_ in there! I gotta get it cleaned up for the next round of games..." Phil continued to mutter to himself, stalking back towards the arena.

Hercules gave a chuckle after Phil, "Well...it was nice meeting you Sora! Hey, maybe when the games open again, we'll face each other."

Sora turned his attention up to the brutish man before him, smiling brightly, "I'll look forward to it!"

"Me too," Hercules grinned, turning on his heel and heading into the arena, "I guess I better help Phil out...see you guys later!" And, with a wave, he vanished out of the vestibule.

"I guess it's time for us to skedaddle, eh?" Shidou chirped. She stopped for a moment when Sora flashed her a pitiful expression that clearly stated he'd rather stay and help, "You know...we've got worlds to save, Heartless to kill?" She reminded with a swirl of her index finger and a smirk.

Sora heaved a sigh and nodded his head, "Right, right..."

"We can always come back later, see if it's fixed up!" Shidou clapped her hand on Sora's shoulder as they headed out of the vestibule and into the entrance courtyard. "Sorry that we didn't see your friend around..."

"I'll find him," Sora said to himself, looking forward, "I _know_ I will...Kairi, too!" But, he stopped in mid-step and mid-sentence when his eyes fell upon the mysterious woman, Celes.

The young woman sat on the steps leading out of the courtyard with her chin on her fingers, looking forward blankly. When she spotted Sora, she rose to her feet and approached the trio, sword slung across her shoulder.

Once she reached them, she planted the blade down into the ground and met Sora's eye, "Forgive me for what I tried to do before. I was being used and did not realize it."

"It's alright!" Sora assured, flashing a warm smile up at Celes. "Hades used us too. But we both realized the wrong we were doing, right?" Grinning more, he extended his hand out towards the tall, lithe woman. "We can be friends now, right?"

Celes blinked and gazed down at the large, awkward hand before her. Giving a sigh, she reached out and took it, giving it a small shake. "It...will be nice to have friends once more."

Sora nodded his head, "Did your world get destroyed too?" He inquired with concern in his voice, looking intently up at Celes.

She heaved a heart-heavy sigh. "Yes. I am...partially to blame for that, but it is an entirely too long of a story for you to worry about."

"I understand how you feel," Sora comforted, reaching his other hand out and placing it on the one he held of Celes'. She looked up from the ground and met his careful gaze. "My home got destroyed too. I'm looking for my friends, just like you are! I know they're out there, somewhere...I can _feel_ it. If you feel your friends are still out there, I know you'll find them Celes!" He smiled brightly again.

Celes store down at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape as he said those kind words. Slowly, she closed it and smiled faintly. "I...thank you, Sora. Somehow, looking at you...I can feel the light within your heart. If the light has someone such as you as it's champion against the darkness...I think everything will be alright." Raising her other hand, Celes placed it over Sora's and gave his hands a squeeze, before releasing them.

"R-really?" Sora laughed awkwardly, his cheeks a rosy shade of red. Celes gave a soft nod of her head. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment, then!" He laughed again, giving his nose a flick with his thumb.

"I am not sure what to do now, though..." Celes sighed, glancing past Sora and towards the arena, "It was mere chance that I wound up here, on this world...where do I go from here?"

"There's a bunch of refugees in a world we visited not long ago!" Shidou offered with a bright grin, "Their worlds got destroyed, too...we could take you to them!"

Celes seemed somewhat taken aback by the comment, "Truly?"

"Of course!" Sora added, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking you in!"

"I..." Celes blinked her pale eyes again, then looked down at Sora and smiled faintly again. "...I thank you. Perhaps they will know more about my world, or where I might find my friends..."

"I'm sure they will!" Sora chirped, grinning from ear-to-ear, "Yuna is really nice and smart! I bet she'll have an idea."

"Very well," Celes gave a small nod of her head, "Thank you...all of you, for showing me the ill I was doing, and for this opportunity."

"Alright, it's settled then!" Shidou announced, raising her hand into the air, her index finger extended, "We go back to Traverse Town!" And, with a whoop, she and Sora headed towards the world's exit, where Fuku waited for them.

Ashi and Celes followed slowly after, the shorter woman looking up at the elegant warrior, "...Your name is Celes, right?"

Celes met Ashi's gaze, "That's correct."

Another quirking of Ashi's lips followed, and she spoke in a low voice that only Celes could hear.

 

"I think...someone is waiting for you there."

 


	6. Knights Lost in Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of the non-Disney Worlds, the trio ends up in the ruined, magical world known as Cephiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This World ended up being very long, lasting 3 chapters. It's also very dramatic and angst-filled...if you know anything about Magic Knight Rayearth, you'll know why.

“What...is this place?”

Sora and his companions stood on a precipice over-looking what appeared to be a ruined world. Dark clouds churned overhead, with lightning cracking across the sky, disbursing the darkness. The ground below was scorched and barren, the buildings were destroyed and crumbling, and the trees looked like they had died ages ago.

When they teleported down to the planet from Fuku, Sora, Ashi and Shidou were now wearing strange and fantasy-like costumes. Shidou explained that on certain worlds where people dressed certain ways, Fuku would pick up on it and dress them accordingly when they went down to the planet. But...were there any _people_ left on this world to notice them?

“I wonder what happened here...?” Shidou mused, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. “You don’t think the...Heartless already got here...?”

Ashi shook her head, “No, I don’t think so...the damage is recent, but...I don’t sense their residual energy.” She informed, her eyes sweeping the barren landscape. “There is a lot of darkness here, but it’s not theirs.”

Sora pursed his lips together, his fists clenching. “I guess we’ll have to go and find out ourselves, right?”

“As worthy adventurers, that is _exactly_ what we should be doing!” Shidou managed to find enthusiasm in her voice, despite the dire circumstances of whatever had happened to this world.

The trio turned away from the cliff face and headed towards the charred woods behind them. There was a worn, beaten-down path that wound through the forest, littered with what were several different footsteps; all of them appearing to be _running away_. Whatever had happened to this world, it was terrible...But what could cause this much mayhem if it wasn’t the Heartless?

As the trio walked through the forest, looking around and observing the fallen trees and the scorched foliage, something began to stir. Sora paid it no heed, but Ashi suddenly stopped walking, turning her attention towards the thick woods that surrounded them. After studying what seemed to be nothing, she gasped and swiftly pulled out her Naginata, gritting her teeth together.

"Watch out!" She exclaimed, right as some _thing_ lunged from the shadows.

Sora's eyes went wide as what appeared to be some kind of _demonic entity_ came charging from the forest. Shidou had to grab him roughly by the arm and pull him out of the creature's range, just as it swiped through the air where Sora stood with it's massive claws.

It was massive - almost as big as Cerberus was - but was somehow more twisted, more _frightening_ then that three-headed dog. It's fangs were almost as long as Sora was, dripping with thick saliva. It was tall and lanky, with a singular demonic eye shifting it's gaze towards him. It let out a low, threatening hiss and swiped at him with it's claws.

Sora was ready this time, calling forth his Keyblade and managing to fend off the swipe. But, the demon's claws were baring down against his weak, noodley arms. Already, he was losing strength - but thankfully, he had his companions to help him.

Shidou's yo-yo's came flying out and wrapped around the arm of the creature, pulling it away from Sora. With a moment to breathe, Sora lashed out with his Keyblade towards the creature's arm, managing to carve a deep gash along it's scaly flesh. The demon let out a shriek and lashed and nailed him with a back-hand to the face.

Sora went flying towards the forest, but Ashi swiftly came up behind him and caught him, breaking the impact...for him, at least. Sora gasped and looked up at Ashi, who had taken the brunt of the force. She grimaced, but snapped her arm out and cut away the demonic hand that attempted to crush the both of them. Although she didn't show any signs outwardly, Sora knew that Ashi had been hurt trying to protect him.

It wasn't the first time she had taken the fall for him. Was she really that devoted to protecting him...?

Now wasn't the time to dwell on it! The monster was already swinging around another attack, which Sora caught with his Keyblade and knocked aside. Gripping the handle with both hands, he charged forward and lashed out with the blade, causing the demon's wrist to bend in a way not meant by nature. It gave out a cry of pain, Ashi following his initiative and leaping into the air, driving her Naginata into the ground and releasing a huge blast of churning dark energy under it's feet.

Sora and Shidou both attacked at the same time; she fired off a blast of neutral-based green energy from behind, and Sora released his flame from the front. Both collided against the creature at the same time, causing it to cry out in pain, sweeping it's arms out suddenly, knocking both Sora and Shidou aside. But, the monster was severely weakened. All they had to do was hit it a few more times, and it would go down without a problem...

However, someone else had other ideas.

A massive bolt of gold-colored lightning rained down from the skies, cutting through the monster and reducing it to nothing but ash. It certainly wasn't one of Ashi's attacks; and whoever had cast that spell, they were incredibly powerful.

"I never expected to see others from outside of our world besides the Knights."

Sora looked towards the origin of the voice, seeing what looked like to be a teenaged boy - maybe around the same age as Ashi or Shidou- with pale lavender hair, wearing an impressive cloak and wielding a large staff. Although he looked young, Sora could tell this teen was powerful.

"Err...come again?" Shidou asked, raising her eyebrow up.

The man scoffed, "I know you come from outside of our world, strangers," He informed, causing the trio to look at each other with confused expressions, "But, you are no Magic Knights."

"Wait, wait...back up a sec!" Shidou raised her hands, waving them about, "So you know we're not from around here?"

The young man approached them slowly, "Of course I do! I am Master Clef, the supreme wizard of Cephiro."

"So that's where that magic came from..." Ashi noted, more to herself then to anyone else.

"S-so you're a master wizard?!" Sora exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "B-but you can't be much older then us!"

Clef glared down at Sora, "Do not consider me to be the age that I appear! I am 571 years old."

Shidou smirked and folded her arms across her chest, " _Big whoop._ " She muttered under her breath, before speaking normally, "Anyway, you seem to know what's going on here. Can you start at the _beginning_ beginning, so us outsiders can be brought up to speed?"

Clef looked at them skeptically. "I will, but first, I must know how you came upon Cephiro," He stated, "The only way one can enter our world is to be summoned by the Pillar; but she has already summoned the Magic Knights, and I know that you are not them."

"More about these 'Magic Knights'..." Ashi noted, shaking her head, "I'm sure we'll understand shortly. We arrived on a vessel that can traverse between Worlds, and that can access them."

Clef narrowed his eyes, "There are worlds close to ours, but they cannot reach us because of the Pillar." He informed, gripping his staff tightly. “Who are you?”

"B-but that's the truth!" Sora protested, "We _really_ came here in a ship!"

Clef met his gaze with a pointed one, but heaved a sigh, "Perhaps it is due to the instability of the Pillar..." Turning on his heel, he began down the path. "Come. It is not safe in these woods; we must keep moving if we wish to avoid the monsters."

Without much of a choice, the trio followed after him.

"Our world is supported by a Pillar," Clef began to explain, walking at a brisk, hurried pace, "She has the strongest will in Cephiro, and she must pray constantly for the peace, harmony and safety of our world. But, as you can see, she is...no longer able to pray."

"'She?'" Ashi inquired, tilting her head, "This Pillar is a girl?"

"Princess Emeraude," Clef said with a forlorn sigh, his gaze becoming distant, "She is...well loved by the people, and always took her position as Pillar very seriously. I knew her when she was young, and I knew of her...destiny. To see her now--" He stopped speaking, choking on his words. Sighing, he shook his head, "It doesn't matter. She cannot pray any longer."

"So what happened?" Sora asked, struggling to keep up with the taller people.

"Zagato." Clef responded sharply, the very word _poisonous_ , "Her High Priest...his magic is second only to mine. He has poisoned her soul, and now she can no longer pray for the safety of Cephiro."

"So we have to find him!" Sora exclaimed, his face becoming determined. However, Clef suddenly stopped walking, snapping around and marching up to Sora, a dark glare on his face.

"This is no job for you, outsider!" He hissed, "It is a job for the Magic Knights! Only _they_ will have enough power to end it!" Sora blinked his eyes, and was about to open his mouth with a response, before Ashi spoke.

"You keep mentioning these 'Magic Knights,'" She noted in a cool tone, "How do they fit in?"

Clef's glare lessened, looking over to Ashi. Once again, he sighed, returning to walk up the path, leading them to a cliff that over-looked the charred landscape. The trio followed after him, looking out across the world swallowed in ruin. For a moment, he contemplated his surroundings, before turning tot hem.

"When something happens to the Pillar where they can no longer pray, the Magic Knights are summoned from another world," He informed in a dark tone, "They will gain the power of the Rune Gods and alone have the strength to... _reverse_ it."

Sora looked up at Ashi, then to Shidou, then took a step towards Clef, "And how do you know it's not _us_?"

Clef glared again, "Because they were summoned _before_ you arrived."

Well, that didn’t answer _anything._ "H-how do you know that?"Sora asked with a scrutinizing glance.

"I could sense it when they arrived - but something happened," He turned back to the cliff, "They were meant to arrive _together_ , at this spot...but they got separated, and were scattered to the four winds." Sighing, he hung his head, "I have been trying to locate them, but it is difficult, with so much residual energy from Zagato's forces. I do not even know if they live. And...I am only one man. I may have the strongest magic in Cephiro, but I am not strong enough to find them."

Sora looked down across the world, so torn up by the demons sent by Zagato, so hopelessly destroyed. At the black skies over head, churning with dark energy. If these Magic Knights could fix things, put an end to it, then he and his friends would have to find them! Even if the Heartless weren't involved, they still needed to help!

With his new determination, Sora took a step towards Clef, "Then let us help you!"

Clef turned to him, looking down at Sora with shock on his face, "B-but you--"

"He has a point," Ashi interjected, "With more people helping you, finding these Magic Knights will be easier."

Clef gasped, "Y-you would...willingly help a world you have nothing to do with?"

"Of course!" Sora chirped, smiling, "We're on our own mission, too - and maybe, we can find answers to what's going on here!"

"I...see," Clef said with a small smile, "I thank you for your help, outsiders. If you can find the Knights, bring them to me here. I must continue to monitor the situation with Cephiro, to ensure that it does not fall too far into distress."

"You can count on us!" Shidou said with a grin.

"Well...let's get going!" Sora said, his face focused and determined, "We have a lot of ground to cover!" Shidou nodded at him and the two went charging off into the forest, with Ashi following close behind. Clef sighed and turned back to the cliff, looking down at the world below.

"Emeraude, please...guide them to the Knights...and to your salvation."

  
~-~-~-~

  
  


"Other outsiders?" A dark male voice echoed across the palace. A man with long, inky black hair and wearing elegant robes stood before a water-mirror, observing Sora, Ashi and Shidou fight their way through more of his demonic minions. "But they, like the Knights, are mere _children_. They will not stop me, and my plans..."

"So you think."

The man looked up from the mirror to see a figure appear from the shadows. A woman stepped out of the darkness, wearing a long, black cloak and with a headdress that had curved horns on it. She carried a staff and slowly approached the man. This sinister woman was the same Riku spoke to before, and held a dark smile across her lips.

"Maleficent." The man said in a low tone.

"The boy you see in your mirror is more then what you think," The woman explained, reaching the mirror, "You should not underestimate him, Zagato, just as you should not underestimate these Magic Knights."

The man, clearly the Zagato that now controlled this destroyed world, glared up at Maleficent. "I do not need your help, witch. They are but children, and they will not stand in my way."

Maleficent chuckled, "As I have said, they are not to be underestimated." She approached the mirror, waving her hand over it and focusing the attention on Sora, and his Keyblade. "You see the weapon this boy wields? That is the Keyblade. It is a legendary weapon of supreme light, that fan fell the darkness in a single swoop." She turned to Zagato again, "He may appear to be a child, and weak; but his heart is powerful, as is his weapon. Should he remain on this world, even if the Magic Knights cannot make it to you, you _will_ be defeated."

Zagato's brows furrowed together. He observed as Sora defeated the last monster, smiling up at his companions before hurrying off. Maleficent saw the clear intent on his face, speaking again.

"If you wish for control of this world--"

"I do not want to control this world!" Zagato snapped, lifting his eyes up to look darkly at the witch before him. Maleficent was taken aback by this. Sighing, he looked back down to the reflection in the pool. "No...what I want is far _greater_ then that..."

Maleficent quickly found another way to address this issue; "Very well, if you wish to achieve whatever you desire, Zagato..." She extended her hand out towards him, "Take my hand, and accept my help. With my Heartless, you will be _unstoppable_."

Zagato looked at her hand, then raised his eyes back up to meet her gaze. He heaved a heavy sigh, looking over his shoulder and towards the center of the room, to the water-dungeon where Princess Emeraude was kept. He did not believe he needed the Heartless, but with this new information, he _could not_ risk his plans being thwarted. Returning his attention back towards Maleficent, he reached out and took her hand.

"...Very well."

A sinister smile twisted it's way across Maleficent's face.

"Then let us begin."

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


Not all of this world was destroyed...yet. As Sora, Ashi and Shidou searched for the scattered Magic Knights, they ran across a town that hadn't been completely demolished, and still had people in it. No one knew what was going on, only that the Pillar had been compromised; and no one had heard about the Magic Knights before. This only lead to further confusion, but Sora was determined to find them.

As they walked through the village, Ashi suddenly stopped, her gaze darkening. Sora instantly picked up on this shift, looking up at her with concern.

"...What is it?" He asked in a pensive tone.

Her eyes narrowed, "...I sense them...the Heartless." She turned to Sora, "We should leave the town before they manifest. They're drawn to your Keyblade - and we shouldn't trouble these people any more then they already are."

Sora gave a determined nod. "Right."

The trio hurried towards the exit of the town, towards a forest that lay not far beyond. By then, Ashi had withdrawn her Naginata, meaning that the Heartless were drawing near. She continued to run, hoping to put as much distance between them and the village; with Sora and Shidou following suit, drawing their weapons.

Ashi suddenly stopped, twisting her Naginata into a ready position, "Here they come!"

Sure enough, the Heartless began to appear from the shadows, rushing towards them. Each entered into the fray with their own battle style; the Heartless were stronger then on previous worlds, though not quite as strong as the monstrosities they had faced earlier.

Still, they just kept on _appearing_! Wave after wave of Heartless came from the darkness, and it was becoming more and more obvious that the group would be severely outnumbered in a matter of moments.

"Flame Arrow!"

A voice cracked through the fray, as bolts of fire rained down from the skies and took out a great deal of the Heartless. A girl, who couldn't have been any older then Ashi, lunged out from the forest, wielding a large broadsword and hacking her way through the Heartless expertly. She wore similar dress to the natives they had run across, and had a wild mane of pink hair, pulled into a tight braid.

Swinging her blade around, the girl released a massive cyclone of flame from it, disbursing another wave of the Heartless. She was skilled with her sword and her fire magic, and together with her help, they managed to defeat the surrounding Heartless. Once Ashi relaxed and rested her Naginata against her shoulder, Sora knew that the danger was over, and they could thank their mysterious savior.

"W-wow...thanks for stepping in there!" He exclaimed towards the girl, whose broadsword vanished into a jewel on her hand. "We would've been toast without you!"

The girl grinned enthusiastically, "Don't worry about it!" She chirped, "I was summoned here to help, so I'll do everything I can to save Cephiro!"

"Well, thanks for the--" Sora started, but quickly closed his mouth. Even though he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he looked at the girl with a puzzled expression on his face. Summoned to...help? Did that mean she was a--

"You're a Magic Knight," Ashi stated, looking the girl straight in the eye. The girl laughed and scratched the back of her head.

"So I'm told!" She lowered her hand down and smiled, "My name is Shidou Hikaru! I come from a place called Tokyo. I don't know a lot about this world or being a Magic Knight, aside from the fact that I need to find something called a 'Rune God' and save the Pillar."

"I like her already," Shidou commented, grinning, "We share a name, Hikaru! I'm Shidou too, but it's Midoriko Shidou."

Hikaru blinked her large red eyes, "W-wow, really? That's kind of cool that we share a name!" Shidou returned the enthusiastic smile.

"I'm Sora, by the way, and this is Ashi!" He pointed to himself, then gestured towards Ashi, who gave a small nod of her head in response. "We're not from this world, either."

"Oh...have you been summoned as well?" Hikaru asked, tilting her head to the side. "I was informed that there were others..." Sora shook his head.

"N-no...we're not Magic Knights, we came here in a ship!" Sora explained, "We're actually fighting these things called the Heartless, the monsters that you just helped us fight! Have you seen many of them?"

Hikaru kept her head tilted, tapping her finger to her chin, "W-well, no..." She un-tilted her head and blinked her eyes again, "I've fought a lot of monsters since I was summoned...but I've _never_ seen those things before! I wonder why they suddenly showed up..."

Ashi glanced down at Sora, then over at Hikaru, "There's a connection that exists between all worlds," She explained, meeting Hikaru's gaze, "This Pillar we heard about...she must have protected this world from that connection. But, with her unable to pray...the connection is restored, and therefore the Heartless can enter in. She must be very weak now."

"I-I see..." Hikaru sighed, "Well, this just adds to the problems, huh?"

"Indeed," Ashi said with a small nod, "Left unchecked, the Heartless can destroy worlds. That's why we need to stop them - and why we need Sora," She gestured down towards him. "He alone can seal the gateway that Heartless need to enter worlds."

Hikaru snorted angrily, pumping her right fist into her left palm, "As _if_ we didn't need to worry about it being torn apart by Zagato!" She growled, clearly angered by this, "Our missions are different...but our goal is the same! We have to do everything we can to save Cephiro! Right?!" She looked between the trio before her with a strong, determined gaze.

Sora met her gaze with his own, "Right!"

"Anyway, we need to find the others!" Hikaru informed, "We need the other Magic Knights to help defeat Zagato!"

"Do you have any idea where to start?" Shidou asked, her brows furrowing, "We only came across you on accident, Hikaru! Hopefully we'll be as lucky..."

Hikaru shook her head, "I don't think it was an accident," She said with a faint grin, " _Something_ drew us together. We'll find the others, I'm sure of it!" She clenched her fists together, "We just have to set out and start looking! The sooner we find them, the better!"

Sora met her determined gaze, "Alright! Let's go!"

One Knight down...and two more to go.

  
~-~-~-~

  
  


Day had turned into night, and they found no sign of the other two Magic Knights.

Throughout their quest, Hikaru proved herself to be worthy of the title. She was an expert with her blade, and her fire magic was far more powerful then Sora's. At times, her bright enthusiasm was similar to his, having a youthful demeanor and an optimistic outlook on the world; but sometimes, she was as strong-willed and duty-driven as Ashi was. It was clear why she was chosen for the title of Magic Knight, in both her personality and in her skills in combat.

But, it was growing dark, and they couldn't continue their search for much longer. Striking camp - with some supplies provided by Fuku - they sat around a fire and, for the first time, got to know Hikaru a little better.

"So how did this all come about?" Shidou asked, warming her hands in the heat of the flame, "Did you just get sucked out of your old life and plopped here, or what?"

"Well..." Hikaru sat with her knees drawn in, watching the flame dance. "I had dreams, at first, of a girl with pretty blonde hair calling to me. I never quite understood them until... _it_ happened."

"'It?'" Sora asked with a tilt of his head, "You mean when you got summoned?"

Hikaru gave a nod, "Yeah. I was at school and then, I saw her in my head again. I blacked out, and I had a dream where she told me I was a Magic Knight...and that I was needed to save her, the Pillar, so Cephiro could return to normal." She continued to explain, "I still didn't get it, but she went on to tell me about these Rune Gods - ancient beings of great elemental power that would be needed to save Cephiro." She grinned after this, "Next thing I know, I'm sucked out of my class room and get dropped here, in this awesome costume!"

"W-wow..." Shidou exclaimed, with a few blinks of her eyes.

"I got this sword too, and an ability to use fire magic," Hikaru finished explaining, "The rest I found out from the populace. I've been training hard to learn my magic and find the other Knights, but as you can see...I haven't had much luck." She sighed and hung her head, "I really want to meet them...I've been over and over in my head what I think they're like..."

As Sora listened to Hikaru's tale, he began to remember what happened to him before his Island was...destroyed. He gazed distantly into the fire, recalling his own dreams; fantastical, yet horrifyingly frightening at the same time. A chill ran down his spine thinking about it. For the first time, he dwell upon on what he saw, before entering into a strange world of awakening; his own awakening.

How he fell through a darkened sky, only to awaken on island his home. Everything seemed perfect, as if it wasn't a dream at all; but then the water receded, slipping away from his ankles. How Riku stood before him, hand extended, before being engulfed by a massive tidal wave; how no matter how hard Sora struggled, that he couldn't take Riku's hands.

How the skies rained light from above; thousands of stars falling down one by one, across the sunlight sky.

And how Kairi slipped away between his finger tips...

  
  


What was that dream trying to say? Was it...was it truly hopeless to try to find them?

  
  


"...Sora?"

Sora looked up from the fire, seeing Ashi's careful gaze upon him, her hand resting against his shoulder. He managed to crack a smile, even though it wasn't what he was feeling right now.

Ashi picked up on this, "Are you alright?" Her voice was softer then usual, her hand giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"O-oh...I-I'm fine!" Sora lied, laughing awkwardly and scratching the back of his head. "I-I was just...thinking, I guess."

"...You're a terrible liar, Sora," Ashi sighed, with a shake of her head and a hollow chuckle. He looked away from her and back to the fire, not even paying attention to the banter between Hikaru and Shidou. "...Sora, you know you can come to me if you need to," Ashi added quietly, so they wouldn't overhear, "You have...a lot riding on you, and this can't be easy. If you need to talk, then talk; but if you don't want to, then don't. Just..." She paused for a moment, as if she was having difficulty choosing her words.

Sora looked up at her during this pause, studying her face. Ashi was always so cautious, so guarded; but she looked uncertain right now, like she wasn't even sure what she was feeling. Even her icy blue eyes were softer, turning away from him and sighing. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke.

"...Just know I am here..." She turned back to him, her gaze no longer uncertain, but still kind. "...Always."

"Ashi..." Sora wasn't sure what to think. He had seen her softer, but this was even more kind then she usually was. It made him feel good that she could maybe even be a friend someday. That maybe, he could free her heart and allow her to be who she really was. He smiled up at her, "...Thanks."

"I--" Ashi's words caught in her throat. Abruptly, she turned away again, "Y-you're welcome." Was she blushing?

Ashi certainly was a tough nut to crack. But considering she had lost herself in constant battles and wars, it wasn't surprising. It was apparent she wasn't used to this sort of thing, either being warm or having someone get closer to her, close enough to be trusted and to be a friend. She probably didn't have any of those back home. It saddened him that she had such a hard life, but it had forged her into a tough, strong women. But there was still a gentleness to her, a sense of protection, and then this sadness he couldn't quite put his finger on...

Sora looked back to the fire, staring into it for a few minutes. He and Ashi didn't say anything to each other; and he still didn't even hear the banter between their other two companions. All that he noticed was Ashi's presence beside him, even though she wasn't speaking to him. That was enough, really.

And it was comforting, somehow. As if...he had felt it once before; as if in a dream...

"...Ashi?" Sora asked after a while, finding himself smiling.

"Yes?" He heard her ask, her voice still quiet.

"Would you sing?" He asked, remembering her haunting voice drifting across the empty Second District in Traverse Town. She would also hum and sing when she gardened, back on Fuku.

"I--” Ashi was startled by the question, taking a moment to find her words. “I-I could, but...I don't even know what the songs mean, only that they exist inside of my mind...”

“Really?” He looked up at her.

“They're not in the native language from my world, or any language I know...” Ashi was looking troubled now, her pale gaze focused on the fire. She hugged her knees to her chest. “...They're from before I can remember, really.”

“Before you can...?” Sora tilted his head. He didn't know much about her, really. “Maybe your mother used to sing them to you?”

“Maybe? I don't know.” She shrugged, before leaning forward and resting her chin on her knees. Right now, the strong and formidable warrior looked so delicate and fragile. “I don't know anything from before my father found me at six years old, with no memory of my past besides my name.” A low sigh came from her, “I must have had a mother, but...I don't remember her. Or my birth father. Only these songs in a language I don't know...”

Sora wasn't sure what to say. What _could_ he say? He had no idea Ashi had no memory of her life before being found by a Samurai Warlord who became her father. She was so different from anyone he knew, and part of her was broken because of it. Not knowing who your real parents were, or where you came from...that was scary.

Awkwardly, Sora reached out and placed a hand on Ashi's shoulder. She flinched at the touch, and he recoiled his hand right away. “A-ah, sorry, I--”

Ashi turned to him and furrowed her brows, her lips in a forced, wan smile. “N-no, I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--” She sighed and looked away. “Nevermind. It's just hard, sometimes. Not knowing.”

“Y-yeah, I can't imagine...” Still, he replaced his hand on her shoulder. This time, she didn't flinch. “But, ya'know...this road goes both ways!” Sora managed a smile at her. Ashi turned to look at him, quirking a brow at the phrase. He chuckled nervously, “Y-you know, if you need to talk...I'm here, too!”

“Sora--”

“You're my friend, Ashi! I know you've got some issues, but I want to help you, too.” Sora encouraged. “So you get to cry on my shoulder, and I'll cry on yours, okay?”

Ashi forced a chuckle. “I'm not sure I know how to cry.” Her gaze softened. “But...thank you.” She rested a hand over his.

“Y-yeah...no p-problem.” Sora's cheeks began to burn from the gesture, but he liked how warm her hand was.

With that, Ashi's ethereal voice fractured the stillness of the forest, a gentle tune in the same language that neither of them knew. Once again, Sora was surprised at how beautiful her voice was, and how haunting it was too. Still, the sound of her voice was soothing to him, and he found himself becoming pleasantly groggy.

And, hearing that song, Sora remembered another part of his dream. Of a kind voice, speaking through the darkness; telling him everything would be alright. That the light would win over the darkness.

Somehow, hearing the gentle song of Ashi and remembering those words, Sora knew his friends weren't a lost cause.

  
  


He _would_ find them someday, and he would _save_ them.

 


	7. Gods of Old

“Water Dragon!”

A massive torrent of rushing water burst forward, forming into the shape of a Dragon, assaulting the group of Heartless before them. It opened it’s giant maw and engulfed them, churning and disbursing them. The water crashed against the ground and flooded the area, but the warriors kept on fighting.

Since breaking camp early in the morning, Sora, Shidou, Ashi and Hikaru swiftly came across the second Magic Knight; a girl by the name of Ryuuzaki Umi. She was almost the opposite of Hikaru; tall and lithe, more mature at times, but more impulsive. Like Hikaru, she had her own element of magical expertise - that of water - and she used a slender rapier with a dragon adorned on the hilt.

Hikaru slashed down with her sword and released a massive blade of flaming energy, cutting through another group of Heartless, evaporating the water Umi had left behind. With a slash here and there, the group managed to end the rest of the Heartless. Sora was able to ease up when he saw Ashi rest her glaive against her shoulder; a true sign that the danger was over.

"Man!" Umi sighed, her sword vanishing into a gem on her hand, like Hikaru's, "The more we go, the more troublesome these things get!" She scratched her head, ruffling her long, bone-straight pale blue hair.

"Zagato might be watching us!" Hikaru said, gritting her teeth, "And he won't let up until we get killed!"

"I know you want to face him, Hikaru, but we need to find the other Knight first!" Umi informed, looking down at the shorter girl. "We can't do anything without them."

"I don't understand why..." Hikaru sighed angrily, returning her sword back to the gemstone on her hand.

"Maybe it has something to do with these 'Rune Gods?'" Shidou suggested, as the group returned to walking down the path they were on. "Not that we know much about them, anyway..."

Hikaru sighed and folded her arms behind her head, "It's so weird," She muttered, "Most of the people don't even know about the legend. Only a handful did...why do you think that is?"

Umi gave a shake of her head, "I would think everyone would know about a legend like that..."

"There's probably some reason!" Sora offered with a nervous laugh; truthfully, he wasn't sure, either.

The more they traversed this ransacked world, the less it made sense. The people they did encounter every now and again knew that something must have happened to the Pillar; but no one knew why. People had no idea bout the legend; Ashi even made a comment that such a legend wouldn't be something hidden from the people. And Ashi, herself, was a bit of a legend back home. Something about a demon-flower? Whatever. The trio from another world hadn't run across _any_ natives of this world who knew the legend of the Magic Knights. But both Hikaru and Umi had come across one person - and one person _each_ \- who knew something about it.

And what they did know didn't help the situation any.

They didn't know where to look for the third and final Magic Knight. They knew even less about these Rune Gods then the two Knights did; but hopefully Clef would be able to fill them in better once they found the final Magic Knight.

But, with Hikaru and Umi in the party, something out there seemed to... _call_ to them. Ashi tended to lead the group around the other worlds they visited, but both Hikaru and Umi took the lead, following an unknown path.

And of course, Ashi picked up on this.

"Do either of you know where we're going?"

Hikaru paused in mid step and looked back towards the other woman. "Your guess is as good as mine." She said with a grin.

"But you seem to be walking with intent," Ashi remarked.

"I-I...am?" Hikaru quirked an eyebrow. By now, Umi had also stopped walking and turned back to the group. "Gosh, I haven't noticed..."

Umi blinked her blue eyes, "...Now that you mention it..." She tapped a slender finger to her chin, "I thought I was wandering aimlessly, but...I always seemed to have a specific direction to go in. And it lead me to you guys..."

"Whoa, that's cool!" Sora commented with wide eyes, "I wonder why that is?"

"Maybe...maybe, there's a connection between the Knights," Umi mused, "Something to draw us together - maybe that's why we need all three to save Cephiro. Calling us, I guess..."

"You know..." Hikaru looked up at Umi as she said this, "...When I met you, Umi...I felt like I _knew_ you. Like I had seen you in a dream before..."

Umi gasped and looked down a the shorter girl, "I-I...I felt the same thing, too..."

Sora couldn't help but to smile, "...An unbreakable connection..." He whispered to himself, reminded of home; of the star-shaped Paopu fruit that was native to the islands he grew up on. He didn't actually know anyone who had eaten the fruit before, but...hearing Umi and Hikaru realize that they had some kind of connection, some kind of familiarity about them sounded similar to the legend the fruit had.

"What's on your mind?" Ashi inquired, tilting her head down towards Sora.

Sora blinked out of his daze, "Oh..." He looked up at Ashi and grinned, "There's this fruit that grows on my Island...when two people eat it, it creates an unbreakable connection, ensuring that their destinies will always be forever entwined." He looked back to Umi and Hikaru, who were talking about the feelings they had towards each other, and how they felt as if they were already true friends, despite only knowing each other for a few hours. "I guess there are other things in this universe that can create those kinds of connections, too."

"Do you believe in Destiny, Sora?"

Sora let out a gasp and looked up at Ashi. She store at the pair of Magic Knights blankly; her expression was even more unreadable then ever. He studied her face for a while, wondering what lied behind those icy blue eyes. He turned away from her, thinking about it for a few moments.

"I think so," Sora responded with a small nod of his head, "All of this has to have a reason, a purpose, doesn't it? Don't you?" He looked back up at her, seeing her as unreadable as she was before.

Ashi sighed - it was neither exasperated or soft, but instead, almost... _sorrowful_. "I think...I think that I do, but sometimes-- I have to wonder, _why_."

"Ashi...?" Sora wasn't sure what brought on this mindset, but felt concern for this strange woman he had come to care for as his friend.

He had little time to dwell on this, however; "Come on, guys! We've got a lot of ground to cover!" Shidou chirped, drawing Sora out of his thoughts.

"R-right!" He said with a confident nod, dashing off after the three girls ahead of him, with Ashi silently trailing behind him.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


"I do not understand how your Heartless are helping."

Zagato spoke into the stillness, looking into the shadows towards Maleficent, who watched him silently.

"Despite their numbers and strength, they are weaker then my own creatures," Zagato continued with disdain, his eyes narrowed, "More over, it has not stopped this...wielder of the Keyblade from finding two of the Magic Knights. I fail to see their importance, Maleficent."

Maleficent responded with a dark chuckle, "Such little faith you have in them, Zagato." She approached the water-mirror again, waving her hand across it, "While you have been focusing your energies upon sending them out against Sora and the two Magic Knights, _I_ have located the final Knight." The mirror's image shifted from the group battling another wave of Heartless, to yet another girl with short, blonde hair and wearing large glasses, brandishing a massive great sword.

Zagato swiftly approached the mirror.

The girl was fighting off more powerful Heartless then Sora and his companions were. Her magic seemed to be unable to do much physical damage, only truly able to fend them off with increased defenses. Still, she would not last much longer against the horde, and would surly parish soon.

"So you see," Maleficent continued, her tone dripping with malice, "I have things _quite_ under control, Zagato. For the Legend speaks that all three of the Magic Knights must be united to save the Pillar, yes?"

Zagato's teeth gritted together behind pursed lips. He jerked his head up and glared at the menacing woman beside him. "There is no salvation for the Pillar." He hissed, taking Maleficent aback. "What they need to do...no. I will _not_ allow it!" He turned on his heel and walked away from her. "Do what you must to stop them, Maleficent. I will _not_ lose the Pillar to them."

"Leave it to me, Zagato," Maleficent said with a small bow. "I will ensure that your plan succeeds..." And, once he had left the room, well out of ear-shot, she rose up and another sinister smile came to her face, her hand stroking the orb of her staff "...And that your tainted Heart will become _mine_."

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


However, Maleficent was careful in her plans; she only sent the Heartless to attack the final Magic Knight when Sora and his companions drew close.

Ashi fell silent, her gaze darkening. Sora looked up at her, recognizing the expression upon her face now. "The Heartless?" He asked in a tentative voice, even though he knew the answer already. She responded with a simple nod of her head.

No sooner did she nod did some kind of a cry pierced the stillness of the forest they were in. "That sounded like a scream!" Hikaru exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"If the Heartless are here...we need to help them!" Umi concluded, summoning her blade from the gem on her hand. Hikaru swiftly followed suit.

"No rest for the wicked, eh?" Shidou managed to crack a smile as she said this, following the two Knights towards the origin of the voice. Sora summoned his Keyblade and followed suit, with Ashi close behind him.

Sure enough, a herd of Heartless had appeared; very powerful ones, to boot. In the center of it was another girl - she looked older then Umi - brandishing a large blade. However, she was completely surrounded and already bleeding from several places, causing the group to fly into defensive mode.

Shidou swiftly called up her barrier around the poor girl to deflect another attack, just as Umi and Hikaru lunged into the fray.

"Flame Arrow!"

"Water Dragon!"

Hikaru's flaming arrows rained down upon the Heartless, disbursing a great deal of them while the water crashed down, sweeping more of them away. It left a big enough hole in the herd for the group to approach the wounded girl, surrounding her from all sides with their persons.

"W-who...who are...?" The girl whispered breathlessly, slumping down onto one knee.

"Just hang in there!" Sora said, slashing his Keyblade out towards one of the Heartless, knocking it aside.

"We've got your back!" Hikaru added, looking down at the wounded girl. Their eyes met; Hikaru's red eyes and the girl's bright green ones. Hikaru let out a soft gasp as she looked at the girl, her stance relaxing somewhat. "You're...you're a--"

"Hikaru!" Umi's voice cried out, just as a Heartless swooped into attack the short girl. Hikaru quickly focused her attention back on the fight, jabbing her broadsword through the stomach of the creature, disbursing it back into the darkness.

With the combined efforts of Sora and his friends, they were able to fell the last Heartless, allowing them to relax. Sora looked to Ashi once the last of the creatures were destroyed, seeing her posture relax and turning towards the new girl. Shidou quickly knelt down beside her and held her hands out, summoning a glowing green aura that healed the girl of her wounds. She then assisted the girl up to her feet.

"Man, that was close, huh?" Shidou said with a grin, "Good thing we showed up when we did!"

"Thank you so much," The girl said softly, giving a polite bow to Shidou. Her sword vanished into an emerald gem on her hand, just like Hikaru and Umi's did. Sora noticed this, and started to wonder if she was-- "My name is Hououji Fuu. I am a Magic Knight...just as you two are, correct?"

Hikaru and Umi looked at each other, then back towards the girl. "I thought your presence felt familiar..." Umi said breathlessly, staring down at Fuu with wide eyes.

"Yes, we're the other two Magic Knights!" Hikaru reached out and grasped Fuu's hands, squeezing them tightly. "I...I'm so glad we finally found you! And...and you're _just_ like I imagined!"

Fuu smiled warmly down at Hikaru. "As are you."

"Oh, my name is Shidou Hikaru!" Hikaru introduced, releasing Fuu's hands, "This is Ryuuzaki Umi." She gestured towards Umi, who smiled down at Fuu.

"I am pleased to meet both of you at last," She said with another polite bow. But, she turned towards Sora and his two companions. "Though, I might ask...who are your friends? Are they natives?"

Sora blinked his eyes and laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, no...not exactly!"

Shidou chimed in with a grin, "We're outsiders, too, but we weren't summoned by the Pillar," She explained, "We're on a mission to fight the Heartless, the monsters we just faced. And since they're here, we're going to help out until they're gone! Right?" She turned to Sora as she said this.

"Right!" Sora added with a nod of his head. "I'm Sora! It's nice to finally meet you, Fuu!"

"I'm Shidou," Shidou introduced herself, but swiftly added, "No relation to Hikaru! And the silent one over there is Ashi." As she gestured to Ashi with her head, the older woman gave a small bow in response. "Anyway, we were asked by this guy named Clef to find you guys, and bring you back when we did! So, it's best that we head out, right?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Fuu said softly, "Take us to him. Even I have heard of the master wizard Clef...perhaps he knows more of what is going on."

"I have, too. He must be pretty important," Hikaru added.

"He sure _seemed_ to know more," Sora noted as the group proceeded towards the direction they came from, "But he didn't tell us much."

"Maybe because you're outsiders as well?" Umi offered with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"I guess..." Sora muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"We should hurry," Ashi noted, "This world is deteriorating rapidly, and time is of the essence."

The three Magic Knights looked at each other.

"Right!" Said Hikaru.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


With the third and final Magic Knight with them, the group of six adventurers easily carved their way through the hordes of Heartless and other entities that lurked around Cephiro. While Fuu's magic wasn't offensive, she had a whole trove of supportive spells that made Shidou's seem minimal in comparison. Creating barriers of wind, increasing strength and magic, even increasing movement and attack speed helped the process considerably. It didn't take the group long to reach the cliff that the master wizard, Clef, stood upon.

Without even turning to the group, he spoke in a mystical tone. "So it has come to this at last. The legendary Magic Knights have gathered; and now their true test begins." Turning, he faced the group. "Come," he said.

The three girls walked forward before the wizard. As if they knew what to do, they knelt before him, their heads bowed. Clef walked forward until he stood right in front of them. He studied each of them carefully; first Umi, Fuu, and finally Hikaru.

"You three face a monumental task," He explained. "But your hearts are good and strong. You must not waver in your task, for it is crucial that you succeed..." He paused, his brows furrowing and his eyes gaining a pained looked to them. He sighed and looked down at the ground, "...No matter the cost."

Hikaru looked up, "We'll do whatever it takes to save Cephiro." She said in a strong, determined voice.

"Good," Clef nodded. With a gesture of his hand, he commanded the three to rise. Looking past them, he gave a small nod of his head towards Sora and his two companions. "I must thank you, outsiders, for finding the Magic Knights."

Sora grinned over at the wizard, "It was no problem!" He flicked his nose with his index finger, "Anything we can do to help." Clef gave a small nod over at the boy, then turned his attention back towards the group before them.

"There are some things which are important that you need to know," He said, gripping his staff, "No doubt you are wondering why outsiders must become Magic Knights."

Umi furrowed her brows, "I wondered why someone from another world had to be summoned."

"Indeed, it is because only those from the outside can...do what needs to be done," Clef said tentatively, his brows furrowed together. "More over, only those connected to the Rune Gods - our Gods of Old - can truly obtain the power to save Cephiro." He turned on his heel, approaching the precipice, "And only those from another world can bond to them and gain magic that rivals even my own."

"And with it, we can defeat Zagato, correct?" Fuu asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, and--" He hesitated. Clef's head lowered down further, causing the three Magic Knights to look at each other. "...No, it doesn't matter. Not now."

Sora felt a shift in Ashi's posture then. He looked up at his companion, noticing her expression had become focused upon Clef. On his other side, he also felt Shidou tense up, but she relaxed a split second later. It seemed she was better at hiding what she was thinking then Ashi was? Or maybe she just stepped on a rock. He wondered what changed in them, though; but kept his mouth shut and looked back towards Clef.

"Then tell us what we need to do!" Hikaru shouted, clenching her fists together.

"...Very well," Clef said, turning back to them. His expression had changed as well, looking almost lost and forlorn. He gazed past the three Knights and towards Sora and his friends. "Thank you for your help. You have done your duty, and you may proceed on with your mission."

Sora shook his head, "No way!" He exclaimed forcefully, causing Clef to be taken aback, "I want to see this through to the end! And, if the Heartless are involved...I can't just turn away! Besides, we still need to find the Keyhole that the Heartless come in through, so I can seal it and protect this world from them."

"But, this isn't your place--" Clef went to protest.

"I agree!" Hikaru swiftly cut Clef off, turning her gaze upon him again. "Our mission might be different - but our goals are the same! Sora and his friends helped us before, they can help us now."

Clef's face twisted into a glare, "I told you, only the _Magic Knights_ can save Cephiro!"

"And only _Sora_ can save Cephiro from the Heartless!" Hikaru retorted, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, don't you think Zagato might be using them to stop us?"

"I--" Clef was about to say, but sighed angrily and pressed his fingers to his temples. After rubbing them, he lowered them and shot a pointed gaze back at Sora, "...Very well. I will not turn down help if it's needed. But, I would ask for them to leave us for the time being, as I must teach the Knights how to summon their Rune Gods, and obtain the power they need."

"Alright!" Sora chirped, meeting Clef's gaze and grinning. "We'll do anything to help later!" He grinned over at the wizard, before turning down the path with Shidou and Ashi following behind him. "And maybe we can figure out where the Keyhole is."

"I'm sure we'll find it sooner or later!" Shidou sighed, folding her arms behind her head. Despite her easy posture, Sora could tell something was off. Wasn’t there? It was hard to tell. "It makes me wonder what this world looked like before Zagato took control over it..."

Sora looked sadly at the charred surroundings. "Yeah, me too..."

"But...maybe once we save the Pillar from Zagato, things will go back to normal!" Shidou offered, looking down at Sora with a grin, "Maybe we won't even _need_ to find the Keyhole, if this Princess Emeraude protected the planet from all outside forces before, maybe she'll protect Cephiro from the Heartless!"

Sora met her grin and nodded. "I hope so! Or, at least she can tell us where we need to go."

"Right!" Shidou chuckled, "See, our goals _are_ the same, no matter what that hard-nosed Clef says!"

"...I'm not so sure."

Sora and Shidou looked up towards Ashi, who focused straight ahead. The group entered into a clearing, coming to a halt when she said this. Sora arched an eyebrow up at her.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

Ashi glanced over her shoulder. They were well out of ear-shot of Clef and the three Magic Knights. Sighing, she looked down towards him, her gaze narrowed and calculating.

"Something isn't right. It doesn't sit well with me, whatever it is," She said in a low tone, as if the very trees had ears, "And I think Clef is _hiding_ something from us."

"Huh?" Sora asked, "I-I don't get what you mean?"

Ashi met his gaze, "This isn't the first time I've suspected this. Every time he talks about 'saving Cephiro,' he hesitates, as if he's holding information from us." She folded her arms, "It makes me wonder if this Zagato person isn't our real enemy..."

Shidou looked over at Ashi, suddenly becoming serious, "I had noticed that, too. But what could he be hiding from us? And _why?_ Is it because we’re uninvited guests to his little Magic Knight dinner party?" She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one foot, looking up the path they came. "Weird..."

"...I didn't notice anything?" Sora muttered, feeling left out of the loop by how oblivious he could be sometimes. Especially since he _was_ right about Shidou noticing something, too! Ashi sighed and turned slightly towards the path they just came down, as if her very gaze could burn holes through the trees and see what Clef and the three Magic Knights were doing.

"Plus I've been...thinking about this world, and this Pillar..." She continued. "...If she supports the world with her will and prayers, and ceasing those prayers causes the world to rip apart..." Slowly, she turned back towards Sora and Shidou, her eyes holding a chilling quality Sora hadn't seen before. "...Why would Zagato want that?"

Sora's jaw fell open. He blinked his eyes and looked up at Shidou, who had an oddly serious expression her face. Shidou's bright eyes narrowed, her body tensing up and looking over at Ashi.

"So we’re thinking the same thing, aren’t we?" She asked, her voice low. Ashi met her gaze and giving a small nod.

"If Zagato wanted to control the world, he could have done by taking control of her, but allowing her to resume her prayers," Ashi continued in a hushed tone, her eyes darkening, "The more I thought about it, the more I'm beginning to realize something very wrong is happening here...and that Clef is not telling us everything."

Sora's brows furrowed together. Sure, Clef didn't have the best reason to trust them - and seemed slightly annoyed by their presence there - but why would he _lie_? What Ashi said began to make sense in the Keyblade wielder's simple mind. Zagato could have easily molded Princess Emeraude to his will and keep Cephiro safe; but by keeping her from praying, the world was falling apart and, if it continued at the pace it was going, it would be utterly destroyed - Heartless or no. He had no idea what this hidden agenda would be, but he would see this through to the end, no matter what.

 _No matter what the cost_.

Clef's words rang in Sora's head.

No matter the cost? What was he talking about? Would....would the Magic Knights need to sacrifice themselves to save the world? Or...or was it something more _sinister_?

"Regardless of what he's hiding from us," Ashi sighed, folding her arms again, "We must proceed with caution. Whatever is going on here that is so secretive can't be good. We need to be careful."

Sora looked down towards the ground, his hands clenching into fists. "Still..." He muttered, lifting his gaze up to meet Ashi's, "...I want to see this through. They need our help, and if they're in...any kind of danger..." His own expression became serious as he spoke, remembering the words Clef had said, "...We need to protect them."

To his surprise, he saw Ashi nod her head.

"Agreed."

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


The Magic Knights did not return that night. To pass the time - and to keep his mind off of what was _really_ going on this world - Shidou had Sora perform some simple training exercises. Ashi remained off to the side, leaning against a burned tree and watching the path carefully; awaiting for their return. Every-so-often, Heartless popped up or a monster appeared, but it wasn't anything the group couldn't handle.

It was like the Heartless were waiting for the Magic Knights to return as well.

The trio set up camp for the night, and Sora found himself having issues sleeping. He was worried about what Clef meant by "No matter the cost," fearing that the Knights needed to be sacrificed; or something _worse_. He sat alone by the fire, hearing Shidou's loud snoring, chewing on his thumb.

He didn't even notice the chill that crept through the still, dark forest.

"Can't sleep, either?"

Sora looked up as Ashi stood beside him, draping a blanket across his shoulders. The boy realized how chilled he was when the warm blanket rested against him, instantly drawing it around his shoulders and snuggling into it.

"No." Sora responded with a sigh, looking into the fire.

"Thinking again?" Ashi inquired, sitting down beside him, a blanket also around her shoulders.

"Mm..." Sora gave a small nod of his head. "I keep...thinking about what we talked about and...w-what Clef said before." Even though he didn't lift his eyes from the fire, he could feel her gaze upon him. His own eyes became glossy and unfocused, sighing as he drew his knees to his chest, resting his chin upon them.

"He said...they needed to succeed, 'No matter the cost.'" He continued to explain, "I...I'm worried about what he... _meant_ by that."

"As am I," Ashi said, her voice holding as much as concern as he felt. "But, losing sleep over it will do you no good, Sora."

Sora looked up at her. Her pale blue eyes were upon him, their concern filling him with warmth. He knew she had a point, though.. If he was to fight at full strength and do whatever he could to protect those three girls from whatever might ail them, he needed to sleep.

Sora sighed again, "I-I know, Ashi...but my mind is too jumbled right now."

Ashi blinked her eyes slowly, turning them away from him and looking up towards the dark sky. The skies churned with dark energy, and not a single star could be seen. It was unsettling. He noticed her cold eyes began to soften slightly, but only a small amount.

"Whenever I can't get my thoughts organized, or when they plague my sleep," She explained with a hint of melancholy in her voice, "I think of something that always calms me. I hold it close to my heart, and focus only on it. It lulls me to sleep, so whatever I was so focused on before can resume once I awake."

Looking at her, hearing those words puzzled Sora. He had wondered what _could_ calm her, make her feel at ease. Considering the world she came from, was there anything there that was calming?

"What calms you like that, Ashi?" He asked nervously, almost afraid of the answer.

He saw it, right then - Ashi's lips quirked into a faint, wistful smile. It wasn't a true one, but it was better then he had ever seen before. Sure, she smirked or would smile awkwardly, but this was the closest to a true smile he had seen on her. Seeing the corners twitch ever so slightly to curve upwards, Sora's heart leaped into his throat. Was Ashi actually _capable_ of smiling? Could he actually _get_ her to, one day?

"My flowers," Ashi responded in a quiet voice, "I was found on a strange patch of them in my father's garden. They're not native to the country we're from, and I can't get them to grow anywhere else. Whenever I tend to them, they give me peace."

Flowers?

Sora recalled that night on Tarzan's world when she held him to her at night. Ashi smelled like flowers, but he didn't know what flowers they were. Maybe, those same flowers she tended to were the same he had smelled on her. But, her being calmed by a certain type of flower made sense; the entire front yard all the way to the pond before the cottage on Fuku had been flooded with them since they arrived. Herbs, too, but Ashi primarily planted and tended to flowers.

Ashi looked down at him, her face gaining a gentle expression. "So find that thing that calms your heart, and get some rest." She placed a slow hand on his shoulder, before rising up and going back to her bedroll. Sora watched her go, and realized something as she walked away from the fire.

"Ashi?" He asked, standing up as well, keeping the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

She stopped and turned to him, "Yes?"

Sora turned his eyes from her, his cheeks flushing as he scratched the back of his head. "W-would you...m-mind if I stayed with you tonight...?" He glanced back up at her, seeing her puzzled expression. "Um..." He flushed even further, trying to figure out how to put it. "I...I-I mean, u-um...t-to h-help me sle--"

"Alright," Ashi cut him off, not even waiting for his full response. Sora gawked at her for a second, seeing her shake her head in response. "I told you, Sora, if you need me, you just need to ask. If this is what you need...then I don't mind."

She turned on her heel again and proceeded to her sleeping bag - which provided by Fuku - were considerably warmer then the ones Jane had on her world. Sora rapidly nodded his head and scurried after her, the blush growing on his cheeks. Ashi gestured for him to go in first, the boy slipping between the covers of the bag, with her sliding in beside him.

The scent of flowers drifted back into his nose. Sora sighed happily, feeling his worries vanish within her warmth.

"Goodnight, Sora."

Sora smiled, hearing those words; and even though he was surrounded by her warmth, he remembered his friends, Kairi and Riku; keeping them close to his heart as well, his doubts and fears melting away as sleep came to him.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


Morning came and went. Breakfast was finished and camp broken by the time the Magic Knights returned down the path.

Sora noticed something different around them almost instantly. They didn't seem tried, or weakened from doing whatever test Clef had put them through. Instead, they seemed stronger, more confident; older. Their eyes were intense and focused upon the mission they had to complete.

Clef, however, was a different story all-together.

He walked ahead of the Magic Knights. His eyes seemed tired, and his color had faded, as if he had been through some great ordeal. He couldn't focus on neither the girls in front of him, nor Sora and his companions. Sora felt himself become more uneasy with how the master wizard looked; was whatever he was going to do to those poor girls eating away at him? Or...of what this 'cost' might be?

Finally, the three Magic Knights stopped before Sora. Clef looked down at the boy with that same tired, pained expression he had before, making Sora even more uneasy. "...It is done," He said with a low sigh. "They have connected with the Rune Gods...and obtained the powers required to..." There was a hesitation, a pause. "...To _end_ it." He finished, closing his eyes and looking away from Sora.

Sora tried to hide his anxiety - both of what was truly going on, and what might happen to these three girls he had come to consider friends. None of them seemed to pick up on this, and if Clef noticed, he didn't say anything. Slowly, the wizard moved aside towards the center of the clearing.

"I believe you are ready to face the trials you must undergo to end this nightmare," Clef found strength in his voice again, lifting his head up. He looked about at the faces surrounding him, meeting their gaze with a carefully guarded expression. "You three Magic Knights are strong - you have mastered your powers and your element. Your hearts are good and pure. And you other outsiders..." Sora bristled slightly at the term "other outsiders," but kept his mouth tightly closed. "...I do not doubt the power you possess, nor the conviction you have. If you wish, you may accompany the Magic Knights on their final journey - but know this: only they will have the power to stop this madness from continuing."

Sora pursed his lips together. Everything Clef was saying - somehow, it was adding up to Ashi's initial suspicions. There _was_ something he wasn't telling them, something vital. And the Magic Knights didn't seem to know, either; for they looked among each other with slightly puzzled expressions. Sadly, Sora was too simple to figure out what it was; thankfully, someone did.

"Excuse me..." Fuu chimed up, meeting Clef's guarded gaze, "...But why is it that only _we_ can save Cephiro?"

Clef made a sound similar to choking; as if the words couldn't come out. Hikaru glared up at him. "The monster's we've fought - they die just as well by Sora's hand then by ours! Can Zagato be no different?" She asked in a stern voice.

"Zagato isn't your--" However, Clef stopped himself before he could continue. His hand came out and grasped his throat, sighing angrily and looking away from them.

"'Isn't our' what?" Ashi asked in a sharp, skeptical tone.

Clef shook his head angrily, sighing and looking back at the group, "I cannot say! It has to do with your Rune Gods, Knights. They give you the power to do what must be done!" He shook his head again, "This will come to an end, one way or another; and you mustn't waste more time with trivialities! Cephiro is at stake!"

Sora was about to open his mouth, but swiftly closed it. Now he _knew_ something wasn't right. But, no one else objected. Clef was right; the world was falling apart at the seams, and the Heartless probably weren't helping things. The more they wasted time, the more it decayed to the point of annihilation. Sighing again, Clef turned around and planted his staff in the ground.

"Come. I will send you to Zagato's fortress," He informed in a serious tone. "Form a circle around me."

Wordlessly, the group surrounded Clef. He lifted his off-hand up and began to chant softly in a strange language. His eyes fell closed as the area suddenly became deathly still and silent. His hair, cloak and the ribbons on his staff began to defy gravity as wind began to swirl around him. Elegant bands of light began to trace themselves across the dirt, branching out away from him and towards each of them.

"Whoa!" Sora gasped.

He recognized this.

It looked similar to what Yuna and Celes had done when they summoned.

The bands of light formed elegant circles around the feet of each of the six warriors surrounding the wizard. Slowly, he lifted his head up, his eyes opening.

"And..." He said in a low voice, "...Be prepared...for _anything_."

  
  


And, in a flash, they were gone.

 


	8. The Bitter Truth

 

Blue light engulfed Sora's vision. It flashed blindly, distorting reality around him. Squinting, he raised his hands up as to protect himself from the flash of light, but soon it faded away. Suddenly, he was someplace else; they were no longer in the charred forest anymore. As the light faded and his vision returned, Sora lowered his hands to look around him.

"Wow...!" He exclaimed breathlessly, his eyes wide with wonder.

They appeared to be in some sort of a palace...but it was unlike any palace he had ever seen before. The walls were beautiful crystals, reflecting everyone's mirror image, turning it into something surreal. The room the group stood in was massive, with huge crystalline pillars, pointing down towards the ground. Light emanated from these pillars, painting the room in an ethereal blue glow.

The room narrowed towards one end, where water cascaded down the walls in a beautiful water-fall, gathering in a small pool below that flowed around the entire room.

Sora couldn't help but to be enthralled by this ethereal palace.

Hikaru and Shidou were looking around with curious expressions as well. Umi approached one of the crystalline walls and looked at herself, reaching out and placing a hand against it.

"It's like some kind of fairy tale..." She whispered, running her fingers down the elegant wall.

"I can't believe something this beautiful exists in a world so destroyed..." Fuu noted tentatively, "Still...something...seems wrong."

"Wrong?" Sora asked, looking back towards Fuu. She held a serious expression on her face, her brows furrowed together. Glancing over towards Ashi, he noted his companion shared the same expression, her icy eyes sweeping the room cautiously. "W-what...what do you mean?"

"It's...too quiet, too empty," Fuu noted, pressing a hand to her chin. "Surely, the heart of Zagato's base would have more monsters."

Sora narrowed his eyes, looking back to Ashi. Her stance was tense, her gaze focused; but it wasn't how she usually reacted when Heartless were near. Quickly, he looked over his shoulder and down the hallway leading out of the room they were in, noticing how deathly silent everything was. All he heard was the sound of his companions, nothing more.

That made him feel even more uneasy then he already was.

"There are no Heartless here."

Sora looked back over to Ashi as she spoke. Her eyes were narrowed and looking beyond him and into the hallway. "I can't even sense them, not even the tiniest flicker of their energy."

"W-what?" Shidou balked, her eyes wide, "How can that be? This should be the place that's absolutely _crawling_ with those buggers!"

"I don't know..." Ashi stated, "...But wherever they're coming from, the source isn't in here. No where _near_ here."

Sora pursed his lips together. "B-but that doesn't make any sense!" He exclaimed in a flabergasted voice, "Zagato is using them, right?"

Ashi looked down at him, "Or, maybe Clef didn't send us where he said he was." Sora was taken aback by this comment, but given how suspicious Clef was acting...maybe it made sense. More sense then the Heartless not being where Zagato was.

The three Magic Knights, however, looked between each other with puzzled expressions.

Umi looked towards Ashi with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Ashi sighed, "Look, it's...difficult to explain, but we don't think Clef is telling the whole story of this world." Umi and Hikaru exchanged glances again, but Fuu kept her gaze steady on Ashi.

"I...have suspected as much," Fuu noted with a tiny nod of her head, "But, we hadn't the time to dwell on it, do we?" Ashi gave a nod of her head in response. Hikaru was about to open her mouth in protest, but Fuu calmly addressed her, "Miss Hikaru, we need to focus on finding Zagato. We can talk to Clef later, once this is all over."

Hikaru quickly closed her mouth. "...Right!"

Umi nodded her head, "Whatever's going on...Zagato's _got_ to be in here, somewhere."

"Then let's go," Ashi stated, walking down the hallway leading out of the room. "And we should be on our guard, always."

Sora pursed his lips together and gave a quick nod of his head. "Got it."

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


How long they wandered those long, empty hallways, Sora wasn't sure. The tension was high; he could feel it radiating off of his companions. Sora was just glad Ashi was there, following her senses, otherwise he would've lead the group around in circles the entire time.

The castle was dark and very confusing. Each room branched off to a different one, with twisting hallways and staircases everywhere. Everything looked abandoned; there was dust everywhere, tables were turned over, things littered about. People obviously left in a hurry, and never returned for their things. The people of this world were truly desperate and fearful, but even in the midst of their wanderings, they didn't encounter a single monster in the entire palace.

Thankfully, Ashi could sense a dark energy building and was following her senses. She said it wasn't the Heartless, but...something else. The further they ventured into the castle the more concerned she looked. Sora hadn't ever seen such an expression on her face. It...looked almost like pity, or even fear. Maybe a mixture of the two. He didn't ask her about it, because she'd likely just evade anything he suggested.

More over there was this...overwhelming heavy cloud hanging about the castle. The air seemed thick, and it only got worse the further they ventured. And, with that heavy feeling, there was a strange feeling of...extreme sorrow. Sora wondered if Ashi was picking up on this, just like he was. Still, he didn't mention anything to her or to anyone else; they were tense and worried enough as it was.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group made it into a massive central room. A water-mirror rested in the center of it, and past that up a small staircase was something that looked like a massive glass mirror in the center of the floor. And, beyond that...

"I had not expected you to make it this far."

Sora felt ever muscle in his body tense up. Beyond the glass mirror stood a man, facing elegant waterfalls that flowed...upwards. He faced away from them, wearing elegant-looking robes, with long, inky-black hair. Even though Sora's senses weren't keen, he could sense a great presence from this man, noting what little openings he had in his stance. Slowly, the man turned around, facing them with deep violet eyes.

But what Sora saw in those eyes was not anger, nor hated; instead, there was sadness and guilt. This had to be Zagato, but...why would he look so sorrowful?

The man approached the group with slow, elegant steps. "I did not think a group of children could fight back against the demons I summoned," He continued to speak in a low, icy voice. "Yet, even with outside help, you have felled my minions one and all, as well as the Heartless." He stopped in the center of the room, his robes fluttering about him. "Your hearts are strong. Emeraude chose wisely."

"Emeraude?!" Umi exclaimed, her eyes wide, "Do you know her?"

The man turned his icy, sorrowful gaze towards her. "Of course I do. I am her High Priest, sworn to protect her."

Sora let out a small sigh of relief. This man couldn't be Zagato, then! If he was the one destined to protect her, then why would he turn against her? But, in looking up to Ashi, he noticed her gaze was focused and intent upon this strange man. Sora felt himself tense up again in response, looking back towards the Priest.

"Then you know where she is!" Hikaru shouted. "Tell us, please!"

The man scoffed. "No."

Hikaru balked at this, quirking an eyebrow up. "W-why not?"

The man's gaze darkened, focusing upon Hikaru. "By allowing you to free her from her prison, Magic Knights, I write her doom." He hissed in low tone, "And I will _not_ allow it."

"B-but we're on the same--" Hikaru started to speak, but her voice quickly caught in her throat. The man rushed at her like a black blur, a lance held in his hand and thrusting it out towards the small girl. She quickly summoned her blade and managed to catch the tip of the lance. However, the man was incredibly powerful; he was able to force Hikaru down onto her knee before him. "W-what are you doing?!" She hissed between clenched teeth, "We're here to save her!"

The man glared down at her, "There is no _salvation_ for the Pillar!" He shouted angrily, "Lest of all from _you!_ "

The other two Magic Knights leaped into action, brandishing their swords towards the mysterious man. However, he snapped his free hand out and released a blast of dark energy from his body, knocking all three of the girls aside. Sora looked up at disbelief towards the strange man, wondering how he could be the sworn guardian of Emeraude, and yet say there is no salvation for the Pillar...and that the Knights were the enemies! How could he _say_ such a thing?!

"T-there's no way w-we'll let her down!" Hikaru grunted, placing the tip of the sword on the ground and rising up.

Sora gritted his teeth, glaring over at the man, "You're supposed to protect her, right?!" He exclaimed, "So why are you fighting us? We're trying to help!"

" _Fools._ " The priest hissed, "Do you know _nothing_?!"

Ashi narrowed her eyes over at him. "...You're Zagato, aren't you?" She demanded in a cold tone. The man met her gaze carefully.

"Yes." He responded simply.

"W...w-what...?!" Hikaru exclaimed, her eyes going wide, "Y-you're _Zagato_?!"

"You heard me the first time." Zagato informed, lowering his lance. "I am the High Priest, Zagato."

"B-but why..." Umi rose up to her feet as well, "...Why are you keeping Princess Emeraude from her prayers, if you're supposed to protect her?!"

Zagato narrowed his dark eyes, "The Pillar alone must pray for the safety of Cephiro," He informed in a low, even tone. "She protects it from all evils, keeps it safe and peaceful; keeps the people happy. But..." His gaze lowered. In that moment, Sora sensed that same sorrow he had felt before, the same guilt; the same hesitation. Zagato heaved a heart-heavy sigh and lifted his eyes upwards, looking over at Hikaru.

"...But who will protect _her_ happiness...?"

Hikaru gasped, her eyes wide. "...W-what...what do you mean...?" She said in a bewildered voice.

Zagato's expression changed again, back to an intense and focused one, "Your path ends here, Knights. I will _end_ the Legend of the Magic Knights - and _save_ Princess Emeraude!!"

He snapped his lance out in front of him, raising it up and placing the flat of his palm against it. Dark energy sparked around his blade. Ashi gasped and quickly reached for Sora, about to shout something; but by then it was too late. Snapping his arms out in a sweeping motion, Zagato released a massive torrent of negative magic, quickly cutting through the ceiling and floor, engulfing the entire room in darkness.

Sora squeezed his eyes closed and waited for the blast to hit; but it never did.

Ashi quickly wrapped her arms around Sora, pulling her against him. She had her back facing the spell, and let out a cry of anguish when the energy hit her, carving a deep gash across it. She fell against Sora, blood pouring from her grievous wound, but she didn't let go of him; even as the spell continued to assault her.

Sora store up at her with fear in his eyes, "A-Ashi, stop it!" He pleaded, looking up at her pain-filled face. "L-let me go!!"

"I _won't_!" Ashi groaned between bared teeth, her grip tightening around him. "Y-you're too important, Sora!! I can't let you--" She let out another cry as the spell subsided. She slumped against the ground, panting heavily, her arms finally loosing around his shoulders.

Sora quickly squeezed out from under her, hurrying to see the damage done by that one attack; he quickly wished he hadn't.

It looked as if Shidou had used her barrier to protect herself and Hikaru; but it wasn't strong enough to hold off the full force of the attack. Several burns and gashes ran down her arms, blood running down her outstretched arms. Hikaru was no worse for ware; just as Ashi, Shidou had taken the full force of the attack.

Fuu was virtually unscathed, able to summon her barrier to protect herself with little adverse effects. Umi wasn't quite so fortunate; she had been knocked into the pool of water that the wall flowed down into, and it was already running red with her blood. She was beginning to force herself upwards with her sword as a crutch.

But, she wasn't as bad as Ashi.

Ashi had one major gash running down from the top of her right shoulder-blade almost down to her right hip; it was deep enough to cut her cloak off, and sliced right through the armor she wore. She had multiple deep lacerations on her arms, shoulders and hips; and she was bleeding rather badly.

Sora gasped and quickly knelt beside her, wishing that he knew curative magic right about now. He heard the others moving about him, Zagato fighting with them. But it made little difference to him right now; right now, he was worried about Ashi. She was so badly hurt, and he had no idea what to do!

"D-don't w-worry about me...!" Ashi's hand had come out to place itself against the wall, all in an effort to get herself up off her feet, but she quickly slid back down to the floor, not having the strength. "J-just focus on Z-Zagato!"

"N-no way!" Sora shouted, shaking his head, "You're my _friend_ , Ashi! I-I can't...I can't let you--"

"I'll be fine!" Ashi assured, gritting her teeth together.

Sora shook his head again, "I'm not leaving you!" He insisted. He held his nervous, shaking hands out over her back, pleading with his mind to find his magic, to give him the strength to save Ashi. He was frantic and desperate; he needed to save her! He _had_ to! He was so focused on trying to get it to work that he couldn't get anything to happen! Seconds felt like hours as he tried to force himself to use it, trying to force the magic out of his fingers and onto her.

It wasn't working.

A hand came out. Sora gasped as one of Ashi's hands curled around his wrist. He turned his attention down to her, seeing her leaning on her other arm, panting heavily.

"Go...!" She urged in a weak, pained voice.

Sora met her gaze. He wouldn't, _couldn't_ leave her, not until he was sure she'd be alright. But she was getting weaker and weaker as the moments past; she was losing a lot of blood. Ashi's hand loosened around his wrist, falling back onto the ground. Seeing her so weak, so frail, so unlike the Ashi he knew. Whatever dark magic Zagato had summoned was incredibly powerful to fell her so easily.

Seeing her so weak, so _helpless_ before him gave him strength. Sora felt a new determination spring up in him; and he remembered what Ashi had taught him about magic.

Magic couldn't be forced.

One had to will it into being; one had to _feel_ it deep within their hearts.

And right now, Sora felt the unyielding desire to save his friend's life, as she had just saved his. He _would_ save her!

He felt the magic come to him. From his finger tips came a gentle green aura. It felt warm, soft... _familiar_. Almost like a memory from long ago. Sora felt himself become calm, becoming one with the magic, and relaxed as the magic flowed through his fingers and entered into Ashi.

Her wounds began to close up. Sora focused more intently on this new magic, finding the more he became one with the spell, the more effective it became. Soon, her wounds were closed, and Ashi slowly turned up to face him.

"S-Sora...?" She gasped, her eyes wide. "...Y-you just..."

But there wasn't any time to dwell on this. Ashi gave a gasp and grabbed Sora by the arm, yanking him out of the way of a blade of dark energy that cut towards them. The energy sliced through the wall beside them, tearing a deep gash within it's crystalline structure. "No time to sit around, Sora!" Ashi shouted down at him, helping him to his feet. Sora nodded his head, calling forth his Keyblade once more.

"Right!"

The Magic Knights and Shidou were already on their feet once again – Fuu and Shidou no doubt dealing a dose of healing – fighting Zagato. But the High Priest was proving incredibly formidable, combating the large group with ease. Hikaru rushed at him, charging her sword with flaming energy. He caught her blade, but her hand came out and released a bolt of flame at his abdomen. As Zagato went flying back, she spun around and slashed at him with her blade, catching a bit of skin and fabric with her blow.

Zagato staggered back, his off-hand grasping his wound. "Tch..."

"Why is it that you've held Princess Emeraude hostage, whom you were supposed to protect?!" Hikaru demanded between her panting. "Why do you want to control Cephiro?!"

" _Fool_!" Zagato snapped, glaring down at the girl, "Do you know _nothing_ of this world? My desire is not Cephiro! If that is what I truly wanted, then why would I allow it to be destroyed so?"

Hikaru's eyes widened, "W-what...what do you mean?"

"Here, everything is decided by the strength of one's heart." Zagato raised his lance upright, running his hand slowly down the blade. "The Pillar of Cephiro must devote all of their heart, all of their being, to this world. She is allowed no _happiness_ of her own...and I intend to _free_ her from this burden!" He snapped his lance out, brimming with dark energy. "Even if it means I must _sacrifice_ this world to do so!!" With this scream, he jabbed the blade down into the ground, releasing a massive shockwave of chaotic energy towards the group.

This time, Ashi was not there to defend him.

She began to move towards Sora when Zagato unleashed the attack, but she couldn't move fast enough. Sora squeezed his eyes closed and braced himself for impact.

However, instead of feeling the brutal blast of dark energy hit him, Sora swore he felt a breeze blow past him. Slowly, tentatively, he lifted his head up from his crossed arms, gasping as he saw almost a...wing of green wind surrounding him.

Gasping, Sora fully lowered his arms and glanced out about him. In the center of the room floated Fuu, who seemed to be surrounded by an...almost _angelic_ figure. A strange wisp embraced her with green, feathery wings of wind, while another set of wings fanned outwards, encircling the entire group with protective energy, successfully disbursing Zagato's attack. Sora looked up at the winged figure behind Fuu with awe, his eyes wide and his jaw slowly falling agape.

Slowly, Fuu began to descend to the ground, the wings of energy surrounding her gently flapping her down. One by one, the wings that shielded her friends returned to the figure behind her, gaining more and more sets of behind her. Fuu's eyes began to open, her eyes looking to be glass spheres within her sockets, glowing faintly with green energy. Even her forehead was emblazed with a strange symbol in green.

Sora's eyes widened and his mouth slowly fell agape, unable to keep himself from staring in wonder at her.

With all of it's wings returned to it's back, the mysterious figure channeled through Fuu snapped all of them outwards, vanishing suddenly in a burst of green-colored feathers. Each father began to fade away into specks of light, floating to the ceiling and dissipating. Sora watched the light slowly fade away, completely in awe of what had just happened.

"So... _that's_ a Rune God...?" He heard Ashi whisper breathlessly.

Sora felt deep magic stirring within his companions. He looked to Umi, who rose from where she sat in the pool of water in the far corner of the room. As she did, the water rushed and swirled around her, engulfing her arms in a continually moving torrent. Slowly, her eyes opened, glowing a brilliant blue; and a similar symbol appeared upon her forehead.

The water around her began to take shape; along her arms dragon claws and scales formed, and above her head a dragon formed.

"We will not fail." Umi's voice was a booming echo as she spoke.

Hikaru also rose, calling forth flaming energy around her. Like Umi's, hers too began to take shape; that of a blazing wolf, adorned with a golden horn behind her. Her eyes turned red and a figure appeared upon her forehead as well.

They were summoning their Rune Gods.

"We will save Cephiro from you!" Hikaru shouted, her voice also holding a strange echo to it.

Zagato gritted his teeth together. "You think you can defeat me with your Gods?!" He hissed, "I will not fail Princess Emeraude! I will _not_ let you touch her!!" Dark energy began to coil around the High Priest, preparing for a final attack.

Even Fuu called forth her own Rune God.

"Together," She echoed softly, looking to her three friends, "We will save Cephiro!"

  
  


Three energies rushed forth. Sora instantly felt the magic at work; the Magic Knights were performing a Limit Break together! The three girls rushed at Zagato from all sides, leaving trails of their respective elements in their wake. Even as Zagato unleashed his power, the dark energy he released was quelled by the might of the Rune God's at the Magic Knight's back. They dashed at him from various sides, time and time again; until their blazing energies formed a pentagram surrounding Zagato.

Suddenly, Sora felt something tingling in his fingers. He looked down at his Keyblade, feeling it draw itself towards the energy of the Knight's...almost as if something, deep inside, was... _calling_ him to it. Looking up, he saw the three girls he had come to consider his friends, seeing them standing ready by the torrent of energy they created. They all looked to him.

Something deep within all of them brought them together.

Sora couldn't deny this feeling, nor this magic.

"Go." He heard Ashi say. He didn't need to be told twice; Sora rushed towards the pentagram of elements, leaping up into the air, feeling his own magic come bursting forth.

"Spiral Lights!" The words came easily to the Knights and to the wielder of the Keyblade, as he drove down, combining a strange blue energy with those of the lights.

Sora's Keyblade struck down against Zagato, and as it did, the lights the Knights made swirled together, coming in upon the corrupt High Priest. The flurry of magic engulfed him and burst outwards, releasing a cyclone of energies, eating away at his being. Piece by piece, fragment by fragment, Zagato was torn apart by the combined power of the Rune Gods and the Keyblade; but despite the energy surrounding him, Sora was not effected.

However, even as he faded away, Sora heard Zagato utter one phrase: "Emeraude...please...be _free_..."

And, with that, he was gone.

The light faded. Soon, the roar of the combined magic died down, and only silenced followed.

A clang occurred. Zagato's headpiece clattered to the ground at Sora's feet, the only thing that remained of him from the combined attack. Slowly, Sora felt his eyes soften, kneeling down and reaching for the headpiece. Somehow, the sorrow within that man's eyes - his conviction to protect Emeraude's happiness...and those last words he uttered. Was Zagato _really_ that bad of a guy...? Would Sora have done the same thing if he was in Zagato's position? He slowly rose up, still holding the headpiece, and looked out before him.

The three Magic Knights seemed winded, but rushed to each other and hugged each other happily. They seemed oblivious to the concerns Zagato had pressed to them, of everything that was now beginning to make sense. Sora looked across to Ashi and Shidou, who both seemed uneasy. He silently approached them, meeting Ashi's careful gaze.

"...Why do I get the feeling we shouldn't be rejoicing?" Shidou muttered, scratching her head, "Everything Zagato said - it made sense, didn't it? If Emeraude can only pray for everyone but herself...who can pray for her happiness...?"

Sora shook his head. "I...I don't know..."

Ashi looked at him, reaching out and touched his shoulder. "...Sora?"

Sora sighed and hung his head, holding his hands out with Zagato's headpiece in it. "I...right before we...w-we killed him, he said...'Emeraude, please be free.'"

Ashi's brows furrowed, her mouth opening in response. But before any words could come out, all of the air was sucked out of her lungs, her eyes going wide. She looked off to the side, down towards Shidou, then over at the Magic Knights. Her hand on Sora's shoulder tensed, squeezing it so tightly it began to hurt. Sora looked up at her. What little color she hadl drained from her skin.

Sora had never seen her look like that before. What was wrong? Shidou picked up on this as well, looking incredibly concerned. "A-Ashi...? What is it?" She asked in a nervous voice.

Ashi took a step backwards. "A-a great... _blackness_...!" She whispered, before clenching her teeth and looking back at the Knights. "Hikaru! Umi! Fuu! _Run!!_ " Her words were urgent, but came out as a panicked whisper.

The three Knights looked confused, but that's when the ground started shaking. Sora looked frantically back at Ashi, seeing the intense emotion displayed across her face. She pursed her lips together and shouted back to the Knights, "We _have_ to get out of here!! There's a great darkness below us -- unlike _anything_ I've ever--!!" The tremors below their feet began to increase suddenly, making it unable for any of them to walk, knocking the entire group off their feet.

The mirror in the center of the room began to crack.

Ashi grabbed both Sora and Shidou and pulled them down to the ground, holding them fast as the tremors reached their climax, the mirror shattering completely.

And, with it, the shaking stopped.

Sora looked up from where he lay, spotting a figure standing before the shattered mirror, leading to an underground dungeon. A woman stood there with beautiful golden hair, flowing down to the ground, adorned in an equally beautiful white dress. Her hands were trembling, and her head lowered, making it impossible to see her face.

"Run..." Ashi muttered, her voice cracking, unable to go above a whisper. Sora could feel her arms shaking over him. He looked up to see her face, seeing fear clearly portrayed in her usually carefully controlled features. "W-we have to...r-run..."

"A-Ashi...?" Sora looked up at her with disbelief.

"E-Emeraude?" Sora looked across the room to see Hikaru rising to her feet. "Is that you, Princess Emeraude?" She approached the figure. The woman slowly lifted her head, displaying a face filled with immense sorrow.

"Yes...I am Princess Emeraude..." She whispered in a weak, sorrowful voice.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay, Ashi, that's who were supposed to save, right...?" He assured her, but her expression didn't change. She staggered to her feet and grabbed his hand. Her fingers were trembling.

"I-I'm serious, we _have_ to get out of here!" She insisted in a shaken, breathless whisper, but Sora stood his ground.

"A-Ashi, this is Emeraude! What are you so afraid of?"

"H-her aura...t-there's no way...no _way_ we can _possibly_ defeat her!!" Ashi whispered in a panicked voice, her hand clutching to Sora fiercely.

"W-why would we want to fight her?"

"C-can't y-you feel it...?" Ashi whispered again, staring down at Sora with wide, terrified eyes. "H-her Aura, it's..." She swallowed hard and raised a hand to her throat, holding it. "...I-it's...s-so incredibly... _d-dark_..."

Slowly, Sora's expression changed. It shifted from skeptical to one of shock, quickly looking over his head and towards the elegant Princess Emeraude, of whom the Magic Knights were approaching. They knelt before her, and as he watched, things began to click into place.

Was _she_ the origin of the shadow Ashi spoke of...?

"We've come to rescue you, Princess," Hikaru stated, putting a hand before her heart, the other Knights following suit. She smiled brightly up at her. "Y-you're...just like I dreamed..." She whispered breathlessly, almost in...awe of this tall, sorrowful woman before her.

"You are...the Magic Knights...?" Emeraude whispered in the same sorrowful tone.

Hikaru nodded, "We're the ones you summoned! I'm Hikaru, and this is Umi and Fuu," She gestured to the others, "We found each other in your world, connected with our Rune Gods, and found Zagato--"

"...Zaga...to....?" Emeraude whispered again, her gaze focusing down upon Hikaru. "...Zagato..." She whispered again, her voice becoming less sorrowful and more sharp.

Sora felt a shift in Emeraude's position. No longer was she holding herself weakly with many openings, but now she didn't have _any_. He felt a pit bury itself in his stomach, wondering if Ashi's fears were actually true...that Emeraude really was the origin of the shadow...

"We defeated Zagato so we could save you, and Cephiro...!" Hikaru also tensed up, feeling the shift within Emeraude as well.

"Zagato..." This time, his name came out a slow, unsympathetic hiss from her pale, pursed lips. "You killed him, Zagato..."

"Hikaru! Umi! Fuu!!" Shidou shouted, "You have to get away from--"

" _YOU KILLED MY BELOVED ZAGATO!!_ "

Emeraude's voice came out as a booming, echoing scream, brimming with unadulterated rage - as a massive torrent of energy curled out from her, quickly tearing through the floor, the ceiling, the walls.

"W-what...?!" Hikaru shouted in disbelief, stumbling backwards as the wave of energy neared her.

_**"I'LL KILL YOU!!** _ **"**

Emeraude's hand snapped out and grasped Hikaru from the throat, her eyes no longer holding the same pain, the same sorrow they held before. Now they were wide and manic, her teeth bared and her nails digging into the flesh Hikaru's neck. Hikaru grasped at the hand that held firmly to her throat. Emeraude raised her off of her feet and above her head, her tight grip increasing.

All the while the chaotic magic released from her body continued to tear the room apart.

"H-Hikaru--!" Umi screamed as Fuu summoned her Rune God, surrounding herself and Umi as the castle fell down around them. Ashi quickly called forth her wings and pulled both Sora and Shidou against her, Shidou surrounding them with her barrier. "W-w-what's going on...?!"

"Why is she attacking us...?" Fuu whispered in a frightened, confused voice.

"W-we have to run! He-her power...it's too much, even for all six of us!" Ashi pleaded, the castle falling away from them, revealing that the castle had been floating in mid-air, and they now were over the scarred Cephiro. Ashi's black-and-violet wings beat in the air, but the sheer force of Emeraude's energy was pushing her further and further away.

"W-we can't just _run_!" Sora gasped. "W-we have to help!"

"T-there's no way..." Ashi muttered between clenched teeth, "I...I doubt I can even get _close_ to her...with the e-energy she's producing...my wings would get torn up before I could get us within fighting distance..." She grunted, holding onto the pair of them tighter. "Especially with you two weighing me down..." She gritted her teeth together, "We...we have to trust in the Knights..."

"T-there's... _nothing_ we can do?!" Sora looked up at disbelief at Ashi, but quickly assessed their position. Ashi was beating her wings hard and panting heavily, sweat beading down her face; but the endless output of magic energy Emeraude released continued to shove them away. More over, she was falling down, and already straining to keep aloft. "W-we just have to...sit and watch?"

"I don't like this any better then you do, kid..." Shidou reached out and put a hand on Sora's shoulder, "But sometimes... _fate_ is a cruel and heartless mistress...and all we can do is just—just sit by and _watch_." She bit her lower lip.

Sora looked over at her as she said this. For some reason, the air of childishness that surrounded her had faded completely; for a moment, as she spoke those serious and mature words, Shidou no longer looked 15. Instead, her eyes held an age far beyond his or Ashi's, her face seeming to match it. Even her hand, usually so comforting, felt weak against his skin.

"...Shidou...?" He asked, seeing her look away and towards the fight they couldn't participate in, regaining her usual composure, but looking on with a maturity he hadn't seen before. However, he gasped as blue light formed below them, looking down as he saw another summoning circle trace it's way through the air. Within a flash, the trio was summoned to the same precipice they met Clef on, seeing him standing there.

"Clef...?" Ashi asked, easing Sora and Shidou to the ground. He watched the battle that raged above them; the skies were ablaze with the energy of Princess Emeraude and the Magic Knights.

"You would have only gotten hurt if you remained." The wizard informed, watching on with a sorrowful expression. Ashi narrowed her eyes at him, but before she could throw accusations at him, he turned towards the group with sorrowful eyes. "...And now, you know the truth. The whole, ugly truth of this world."

"Why did you _lie_ to us?!" Ashi snapped, her wings flaring out in rage. "Why didn't you tell us that Zagato isn't the real enemy, and that Emeraude was in _love_ with him?" Her hands snapped out and grasped Clef by the collar of his robe. "Why is she _killing_ those poor girls over this?!" Clef only looked away. Ashi gave him an angry shake, " _Answer_ me!!"

"Ashi, calm down!" Sora gasped, looking up at her with wide eyes. He hadn't ever seen her so angry before, didn't even _think_ she could get so angry. What was causing this in her...? "Forcing it out of him won't help!"

Ashi scoffed and released Clef, who fell down on his feet. "How can such darkness exist within _one person_?" She asked in a cold tone, not lifting her gaze from the master wizard.

"...The Pillar is not allowed to love," Clef said in a low voice, turning his gaze up to Ashi. "Her soul purpose must be Cephiro, and _only_ Cephiro. Should her heart waver for one moment...it causes this." He turned on his heel and gestured towards the destroyed world they stood upon.

Sora's eyes widened in disbelief, "...How...all of this...it _wasn't_ from Zagato?" He looked up from the scarred earth and towards Clef. "From her heart wavering...?"

Clef gave a solemn nod. "When something goes wrong with the Pillar, when they are no longer able to pray for the peace of the world...the Magic Knights are summoned from another world..." Slowly, he lowered his head and turned towards the trio before him. When he stopped, he opened his dark blue eyes and met Sora's with a sorrowful gaze. "...So that they can _kill_ the Pillar."

The world crumbled around Sora. The deafening sound of the battle above them didn't reach his ears; he couldn't feel the ground below his feet. His entire body felt completely numb, as if he had been thrust into the darkness he felt when his Island was engulfed by the Heartless. All he could hear was the thudding of his heart, and the rapid breathing of his lungs.

"N-no...it...it can't be..." He managed to whisper weakly, the color faded from his skin and his arms visibly shaking.

" _Kill_ her?!" Shidou exclaimed loudly, though her voice sounded muffled to Sora's ears. "They're...supposed to _kill_ the Pillar?! _Not_ save her?!"

"In killing her, they _are_ saving her!" Clef continued, looking up to the skies. "For if this continues, Emeraude will pray for the destruction of Cephiro. By killing the Pillar, the Magic Knights allow for another to be chosen and...there is a slim chance Cephiro will be saved.

"No one in Cephiro can harm the Pillar, which is why those from another world must come...and only those with connections with the Rune Gods can even come close to harming her." Clef continued, "That is why the Magic Knights are summoned, so that the current Pillar may die...and a new one may be chosen."

"That's why..." Shidou whispered to herself, pressing her hand to her lips, "That's why we couldn't get near her...and...why you never told us the truth..."

Clef gave a small nod of his head, "Forgive me for not being honest...but I knew Emeraude when she was young. This is...painful for me to experience, as it is with--"

"So this is all just doomed to repeat itself, isn't it?"

The trio gasped as they looked behind them, seeing Sora to be the origin of this voice. He stood firmly upon the ground, his hands clenched into tight fists, his head lowered and his eyes squeezed closed. His arms trembled slightly as he spoke.

"So they'll kill Emeraude, just for this cycle of pain to repeat all over again, right?"

Clef gripped his staff tightly, lowering his head and giving a small nod of his head. "...Yes."

Sora snapped his head up, his eyes filled with a sorrowful anger, "Someone else will be chosen to forgo their own wants, their own dreams and desires, just so this world can live?!" As he spoke, his voice cracked, the tone trembling as bad at his arms were.

Clef hesitated before speaking, "I...yes, someone with a strong heart will have to give up their own desires to support this world."

"There _has_ to be another way!" Sora shouted, shaking his head angrily, "Princess Emeraude and Zagato...they _deserved_ to be together! They _loved_ each other, right? Why do they have to suffer so tremendously all for the sake of the planet?! Can't they exist in a world where they can be free...free to choose each other, to be selfish for _once_?!"

"There is no other way!" Clef retorted in a stern voice, "I have lived a very long time, and I saw the fall of the previous Pillar. There is no way to save Cephiro from this endless cycle of pain and torment - believe me, I _have_ looked! I have _tried!_ But this world cannot exist without it's Pillar! Without it, it will _vanish_!"

"There must be something we can do--"

"There is _nothing_!!" Clef snapped down at Sora, though it didn't shake the youth's ground. "I watched Emeraude grow up, I saw her become a woman...I wished only happiness for her, and she knew that she could not love any other besides Cephiro...and yet, despite it...she still fell in love with Zagato."

"She's _only_ human!" Shidou proclaimed, "Can you really expect a mortal _not_ to ever fall in love?!"

"I..." Clef swallowed hard, "...I wished for her to have a real life, a _true_ life, away from the Pillar - but it cannot be! Once one becomes a Pillar of Cephiro, they cannot be taken away from that sad destiny unless killed by the Magic Knights! If there was a better solution..."

"You should have tried _harder_ to find it!" Sora shouted, "Then...then maybe...none of this would have happened! Emeraude and Zagato...and the Magic Knights...!! They wouldn't have had to suffer through all of this sadness!"

"There's no way to solve it, especially not now!" Clef retorted, "No way to end--"

His voice caught in his throat. Suddenly, the wizard's hand came out and pressed itself to his chest, holding it tightly. He let out a sharp gasp, as if it was pain, his body lurching forward. Sora let out a gasp and held out his arms instinctively, though Clef did not completely fall forward.

"Clef, what's--"

Sora felt his own voice vanish as a massive blaze of light lit up the skies. He jerked his head up towards where the battle was occurring, seeing nothing but a brilliant white blaze in the skies. They were too far away from the battle to make out what happened; had the Magic Knights died, or had Emeraude...?

A great roar soon boomed in his ears as the sound waves from the onslaught caught up to the light. Soon, the sonic boom from it followed, ripping through the ground as it began to quake tremendously.

And, through it all, Sora swore he heard Emeraude's voice echo over the noise.

"Zagato...at last...I belong to you alone..."

  
  


And all vanished into light.

  
  


When the light faded, Sora found himself no longer in Cephiro, but instead on the command deck of Fuku. The sudden change of scene was a bit jarring, and with a gasp he stumbled backwards onto his butt. He looked about in disbelief, seeing Ashi and Shidou there, as well as the three Magic Knights.

Did that mean...that they...?

"What happened to--" Sora was about to ask what happened to Cephiro, even though he already knew the answer to the question. But, he never got the chance to finish it.

"It's not fair..." He heard Hikaru's voice echoing from the other side of the deck. " **IT'S NOT FAIR!** "

 


	9. Land of Sand

What was good? What was evil? Were those that they were fighting really evil in the true sense of the word, or were they misguided or had their own reasoning for their actions? Could it be possible to avoid such a sad, painful fate? Or...were Zagato and Emeraude doomed from the very beginning, no matter what choices had been made?

These were the thoughts that floated through Sora’s mind, thumbing the trinket that Zagato had worn on his headdress. He had kept it ever since they had left Cephiro, and he couldn’t stop fumbling with it whenever his Keyblade wasn’t in them.

“Hey Sora, are you alright?”

Sora gave a squawk in response, jarred from his thoughts so abruptly. He looked upwards from the ground and flashed an awkward smile.

“I-I’m fine, Aladdin,” He responded with a nervous laugh, “J-Just thinking, that’s all.”

The young man that spoke to him - a local - blinked his large, dark eyes before quirking a smile. “You seem to be doing that a lot, huh?”

Sora laughed nervously again. “Y-yeah, it’s just...” Seeing Aladdin’s confused expression, Sora sighed and hung his head, looking down at the rubbed-down trinket in his hand. “...N-never mind...”

Aladdin blinked down him again, reaching up and scratching the back of his head, “Err...well, don’t let it distract you too much! We _have_ to find Jasmine!”

Sora gave a small nod of his head in response, though spoke in a low voice. “...Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”

In truth, ever since they were suddenly whisked away from Cephiro, Sora had been in a state of melancholy. At first, the world seemed like all the others; having their own internal problems on top of a Heartless infestation. But, as they went along, it unraveled completely. This was no longer a fight against the darkness, against those with corrupted hearts; but rather, the lines between light and darkness became skewed.

Before, Sora was always so sure of who they were fighting: the Heartless, Hades, Clayton...they all were very bad men. But now, after killing Zagato - a man who fought so the woman he loved could return his feelings - he was wondering if it was always so crystal clear. Already, he was beginning to doubt the black-and-white terms of good and evil, and the whole ordeal left a sour pit in his stomach.

And the Magic Knights...they were drawn into a fight that wasn’t theirs. They were drawn in to kill the Pillar, Princess Emeraude, not to “save” the world at all. No, they did it so the vicious cycle could repeat itself all over again. It left Sora feeling guilty that there was _nothing_ he could do to stop it.

Now, they were in yet another world with it’s own problems; though Sora was so lost within his thoughts that he wasn’t _quite_ sure what was going on. They were looking for Aladdin’s “special” friend - as Shidou had put it - who was kidnapped by a very bad man named Jafar. Though, Sora couldn’t help but to wonder if Jafar was really that bad...

Even when they fought the Heartless that popped up, Sora felt kind of in a muddled, confused cloud.

“Hrm...” Shidou glanced back over her shoulder towards Sora, lagging slightly behind the group as they tramped through the desert. “...Sora’s _still_ in his little emo-corner.” She sighed, looking up at Ashi, who wore her wide-brimmed bamboo hat to shield her eyes from the blaring sun overhead. Oddly enough, her pale skin didn't seem as delicate as her eyes.

“It’s not surprising, considering--” Ashi noted, focused forward. She then spoke in a low enough voice so Aladdin wouldn’t hear, “...Considering what we went through in Cephiro. It’s a lot for someone his age who hasn’t experienced pain before.”

“ _Pff_ ,” Shidou scoffed, crossing her arms, “To be so down-in-the-dumps is unlike our cute, peppy Sora! It’s driving me _batty_ , I say!”

Ashi shot a pointed glance down at her, “Everyone deals with pain and loss differently. He comes from a very easy-going world, so this is a shock to him.” She looked back up. “Let him work through it.”

“ _Hmph_. Whatev.” Shidou sighed unhappily. She glanced back at Sora, eyeing him suspiciously before casting a sideways glance up at Ashi. A devious gleam came to her eyes, her frown turning into a twisted smirk. She slowed her pace down a bit so she fell in beside Sora and, without him even realizing it, stuck her foot out.

“Wagh!” Sora squawked, tripping right over Shidou’s foot and plunging forward.

Ashi instinctively turned around, reaching her arms out to catch him before he got a mouthful of sand. But, well...her arms didn’t do any of the catching.

Sora found his face buried in Ashi’s chest. Even with his face nestled in her bosom, it took the teen a few seconds to realize where he was and what had happened, his hands coming up and touching the soft mounds. Once he felt them, all of the blood in his body came pumping up to his face, turning him a deep shade of scarlet.

“Err...” Ashi muttered in disbelief, staring down at Sora with a befuddled expression, “...Could you get your face off of my breasts...?”

“A-a-ack...!!” He stuttered, stumbling away from Ashi. “I-I...I-I’m s-so s-so...r...r...y--" And, like that, Sora fell backwards, out like a light.

“Sora!” Ashi gasped, but was still so shocked that she didn’t get a chance to catch him. She knelt down beside the unconscious boy and fanned him, though the blush didn’t recede from his face.

Shidou stood there with her eyebrows raised, blinking her eyes curiously. “...Well, that didn’t turn out _exactly_ how I wanted it to...” She cocked a smirk after this, "...But it worked _better_ then I hoped!"

 

~-~-~-~

 

For some reason, that little event perked Sora right back up...well, once he woke up, that is.

Sure, he still wondered why everything had become so skewed now that they visited Cephiro, but that was the least of his concerns. Right now, Sora needed to help Aladdin; he had to focus on that in the present before he could dwell more on the past.

The group had made it to the Cave of Wonders, still following the trail of Heartless Jafar left in his wake.

"Whoa...this place is huge!" Sora commented, looking around the massive cavern, filled with twisted corners, dark hallways and traps.

"Just don't touch anything in here," Aladdin warned, "Abu did that and the whole cave collapsed on us! If it wasn't for Genie, we would have been stuck here forever!" He paused, through, recalling that his lamp and friend, Genie, were also missing...likely also kidnapped by Jafar when he took Aladdin's "special" friend, Jasmine.

Sora gave a nod of his head, "Right!"

And, of course, the place was crawling with Heartless.

With Sora in his right mind again, he noted how well Aladdin meshed with them. He was a great asset to the trio; skilled with a cool-looking blade, he helped them cleave through the seemingly endless throng of creatures that were intent on killing the intrepid heroes. And he was driven by his determination to save Jasmine. Sora beamed to see how much Aladdin really cared for Jasmine, though Shidou kept nudging him about it. It confused him and her weird comments seemed to go over his head.

It seemed though that the Cavern was out to get them.

Sora cleaved through a row of Heartless, snapping his hand out and releasing a funnel of flame out to set a group of them ablaze. But while he was doing that, he inadvertently stepped on a trap trigger. From the wall across from him burst a massive geyser of water, hitting him square in the chest.

It didn't hurt too badly, but the force of water was enough to send him flying off of his feet and over the ledge he was standing on.

"A-ack...!" He gasped, feeling himself fall through the air. And there was nothing for him to grab onto!

"Sora!"

Ashi dove off of the ledge after him, reaching her arms out to grab him and summoned her wings and pull them up to safety. However, before she could grab onto his hands, her eyes widened and her skin paled considerably. Which was something, considering how pale she already _was._ Her nerve failed and she began to scramble to turn around. Something behind Sora had frightened her...what the heck was it?!

Sora didn't get a chance to check, bracing himself for the impact of something incredibly hard. But...he didn't get it.

Instead, he was plunged into a deep pool of cool, refreshing water. He heard Ashi plunge in after him, and he was thankful that they ended up in something far less painful then a spike trap or a hard floor. Recovering himself in the water, Sora swam to the surface and burst through it, gasping for air. He laughed nervously, amazed at his own luck.

The water felt so nice after the scorching heat of the desert. Sure, his home world was hot normally, but not _that_ hot! Or dry heat. Also, less sand. He looked around him and spotted a ledge not far from where he tread water. Laughing, Sora looked beside him to where Ashi would have been.

"Wow, talk about luck, right Ash--" He started to say, but stopped when he noticed she wasn't beside him.

Odd...she should have broke the surface by now.

Blinking, Sora, looked around; no one above, and she wasn't beside him, either. More over, he was almost _positive_ she had landed beside him in the pool.

"...Ashi?" He asked, his voice echoing off of the lagoon's walls. "...Ashi?!" He asked more frantically, squinting his eyes in the dark cavern, spotting some bubbles coming up beside him. He tried to look into the water, but it was too dark in the cavern to see to the bottom. "Oh, no...! Ashi!!" He shouted, taking a deep breath and diving into the water.

Sora swam like he had never swam before, pulling his body further and further into the depths. Thankfully, his large feet and hands acted like flippers, quickly closing the distance in which Ashi could have sunk. He frantically searched for a dark mass in the murky water, his eyes stinging. But he would keep pressing on until he found her! What if she had hit her head on a rock? What if she had passed out?! He couldn't lose his friend, not like this!

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sora saw a mass. He quickly reached out with his hands and felt soft flesh below them, quickly pulling it towards him. He could see her now, the tuft of purple hair and massive wings gave her away. Sora would have breathed out a sigh of relief, but he had to save his air for when he got to the surface with her.

Only, no bubbles were coming out of her.

Ashi was unconscious.

Sora acted without thinking, desperate to save his friend from drowning. He quickly put his lips to hers, breathing some of his precious air into her mouth, feeling her cough and sputter in response. He then kicked with his feet, holding her close to him, frantically paddling up to the surface. Her wings caused considerable drag behind them, but he was determined to save her!

The seconds that past felt like hours. His lungs were burning; he hadn't ever been under water for so long! But he was so desperate to get Ashi back into the air he hardly even noticed.

Finally, Sora reached the surface, his lungs gasping for air. But he didn't even take a moment to catch his breath; he quickly swam towards the ledge and grabbed a hold of it with his free hand, pulling himself up and then, Ashi.

Quickly, Sora turned her onto her back and checked to see if she was breathing; her breaths where shallow and gaping, if that. More over, she was starting to look paler then usual, and turning slightly red in the face. Almost instantly, Sora flew into protective mode. Due to the nature of his home, everyone was taught how to swim and, more importantly, how to save someone's life if they were drowning. He quickly laced his fingers together in a special way, placing them without hesitation or embarrassment on Ashi's chest.

He began to depress her chest, counting mentally how many times he did. "Come on, Ashi...!" He whispered frantically, watching her face. After the third pump, she began to sputter, but she still wasn't getting enough air to her lungs. Once again, without thinking, Sora leaned down and tilted her head back, pressing his lips to hers and breathing air into her lungs.

Leaning back up, he began to depress her chest again; this time with more results. Her face lost the red hue and she began to cough, the water coming out of her lungs. Another violent cough and she began to gasp for air, panting and coughing heavily. Ashi's eyes fluttered open and she groaned, coughing up a bit more water from her lungs.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief, stopping his CPR, confident that she was going to make it.

"U-ugh..." Ashi groaned, raising a hand up and resting it against her forehead, still panting slightly.

"Ashi!" Sora exclaimed, leaning over her, "Oh, thank goodness! I was so scared you were--" He stopped, unable to say the rest of the sentence. "A-anyway...I'm just glad you're okay, now."

Surprisingly, what Sora heard next was a chuckle coming from her.

"Heh...looks like you were the one to save _me_ this time, Sora." Ashi commented in a raspy, cough-filled voice. She lowered her hand back down to the ground and met his gaze.

What followed next was even more surprising.

Ashi _smiled_.

Sora nearly had a heart-attack right then and there.

Oh, it wasn't a full, tried-and-true smile; but it was more then anything he had seen on her. It wasn't her usual smirk or grin, or the faint smiles she sometimes flashed. To see her face soften, her gaze warm like that was enough to satisfy Sora. Once he recovered from the initial shock of it, he met her gaze and smiled, too; though his face flushed.

And she was _beautiful_ when she smiled, too.

"Ashi, you--"

" _There_ you are!" Sora practically jumped out of his skin when Shidou _somehow_ popped up behind him. "We've been looking all over for you two!"

"Sh-Shidou...!" Sora squawked, turning around to see Shidou and Aladdin standing behind him.

"We were worried you fell to your death, and--" Shidou stopped when she noticed both Sora and Ashi were wet, then looked over to the pool, then back to them. "--Uh. Then you got wet?”

Sora blinked, "Huh? Oh." He looked back at Ashi and smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, we fell into that pool there! And--”

Ashi suddenly let out a shriek and quickly scooted away from the pool and pressed herself against the far wall of the ledge they were on. Her usually pale skin turned even more ghastly, her eyes going wide as she looked down at the water in terror. Her wet wings even spread out and pressed against the wall for support. Sora looked to Ashi, then to the pool, back to her, then up at Shidou; utterly confused.

“Ya got me, kid.” Shidou shrugged her shoulders, also confused by Ashi's reaction. “Though...by the looks of it...” She stroked her chin thoughtfully, observing Ashi's panicked expression. “I don't think she can swim?”

Sora jerked his head back to Ashi, seeing her breathing heavily while she store at the water, inching her way towards the stairs. Her lips were pressed together so firmly that they had vanished into her mouth. She gave a timid nod of her head.

“Aanndd...hydrophobic too?” Shidou pressed. Another quick, timid nod. “...Well then. I'm glad you were here to save her, kiddo!”

 _That_ explained it.

It seemed so odd to Sora that someone he knew didn't know how to swim, given that he lived on an island; but then again, he didn't know much about her world besides the seasons they had. Maybe there wasn't water there. But Ashi had mentioned an ocean before...strange.

Still, Sora was really glad he was there to save her.

"C-can w-we p-p-please l-leave th-this room...?" Ashi muttered sheepishly, still freaked out by the whole water situation.

"Hey, I'm not a very good swimmer, either, so don't feel like you're alone!" Aladdin said with an awkward smile, scratching his head. But, it didn't seem to give her any sort of comfort what-so-ever.

Sora quickly went to her side and helped her up, "Y-yeah, let's try to avoid water-bound places." He didn't want to worry her anymore.

Ashi meekly nodded her head, her hand shaking in his. He had only ever seen her so fearful when Emeraude—well, anyway, he was just thankful he was here to have saved Ashi from the water. He smiled up at her, approaching the staircase that lead up to the rest of the cavern. She was shaking like a leaf, even worse then before. "Don't worry, Ashi...I'll be there to save you if you fall in the water again!"

An awkward chuckle from her followed. "R-right..." She took some deep breaths to steady herself. “I...I-I don't...like water where I-- I-I can't see th-the bottom...o-or the end of it...” She swallowed hard, explaining the origin of her phobia. Well, that made sense. If she couldn't swim and got nervous around those types of water sources, no wonder why she panicked. The pool they fell into was pretty murky, and it was dark and deep, after all. Also explained why she wasn't freaked out by the pond and river in Fuku, as the water was clear and obviously not very deep.

After steeling herself, Ashi's damp wings returned to her back and she released Sora, hurrying up the stairs. Not that he blamed her! He wouldn't want to be around something that freaked him out that badly, either! Aladdin hurried after her, and Sora began up the stairs as well.

"Whoa, wait, wait!" Shidou quickly fell into pace beside Sora, the younger boy looking up at her, "You saved her? From drowning?"

"She didn't save herself?" Sora blinked, quirking an eyebrow up. That must have been obvious; after all, Ashi couldn't swim, right?

"...With CPR?" Shidou pressed further, sliding closer towards him.

"...Yes?" Sora was becoming more confused, and he didn't like the gleam in Shidou's eyes.

A playful smirk tugged at her lips. "With...mouth-to-mouth...?" She asked, her eyelids falling half-closed.

"Err...yes, I had to...?" Sora was still confused about what the heck Shidou was getting at.

That dangerous gleam in Shidou's eyes only grew, her smirk becoming wide. "I _see_." She chuckled in a low voice, nudging him in the side with her elbow. " _Already_ made it to first base, eh?"

"Huh? What are you talking abou--" Suddenly, it dawned on Sora. His face instantly turned bright red when he realized what Shidou was implying. "...Oh... _oh_..." He felt faint again. Shidou snickered in response, her grin widening.

Sora was so involved in the moment, so focused on saving Ashi's life that he didn't even _think_ about it. But he _did_ put his lips to hers, in order to give her air; not once, but twice. Did...did that _count_? Mouth-to-mouth, that is. Sora felt his face burning and his heart racing. His pace slowed down as he touched his fingers to his lips, nervously looking up towards where Ashi walked ahead of them.

"So...how was it?" Shidou grinned playfully, folding her arms across her chest and leaning towards him. In honesty, Sora didn't want to think about it; doing so only made him blush even more then he already was.

"I--" He gulped, "I-I don't know...I w-wasn't even...thinking about it, I guess..."

"Relax, kid!" Shidou chirped, slapping him hard on the back, "I'm just teasing you! Jeez, you're so _easy_ to fool around with!"

Even though he should have been angry at her, Sora's blush only got worse. "S-Shidou..." He muttered, unable to say much else. She chuckled at this, folding her arms behind her head.

"You'll thank me later." She grinned, hurrying to catch up with Ashi and Aladdin at the lead.

  
  


Sora was left to his thoughts, once again; wondering if Ashi remembered the incident...and if she felt anything from it.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


"Give her back, Jafar!"

Aladdin stood defiantly in the center of the room he, Sora and the others found themselves in. Jafar stood arrogantly on a pedestal not far from where they stood, his sinister eyes glaring down at the street-rat. The sorcerer sneered in response, stroking the cobra-head of the staff he wielded.

"Give Jasmine back!!" Aladdin reiterated, his hand firmly clenched on the hilt of his sword.

"Insolent _brat_ ," Jafar hissed, his snake-like eyes narrowing, "How many times must I _kill_ you before you stay down?!"

Aladdin gritted his teeth together, "As many times as it takes, until I know Jasmine is safe!"

"Fool." Jafar spat, "If it is the _grave_ you so desire...then that is what _you'll_ get!"

"Aladdin, look--" Shidou's warning came too late as Jafar snapped his staff outwards, releasing a massive blast of scarlet energy down towards the hapless urchin. However, Aladdin was quick on his feet, easily rolling to the side of the blast. Quickly righting himself, he rushed towards Jafar, but the sorcerer had other ideas; quickly, he withdrew the golden lamp from his billowing sleeves, causing Aladdin to stop dead in his tracks.

Jafar's thin hands quickly rubbed the lamp, a dark grin plastered across his face. "N-no...!" Aladdin gasped breathlessly, watching in horror. The Genie was summoned from the lamp; a lamp, which, Jafar had control of.

Sora tensed his hands on his Keyblade. From what Aladdin said, anyone who wielded the lamp was granted 3 wishes, _any_ wish they desired - aside from killing someone, reviving someone from the dead, making someone fall in love with the user, or wishing for more wishes. And the fact that someone as slimy as Jafar had it...oh, this didn't bode well. This didn't bode well at _all_.

"Genie!" Jafar bellowed, the blue figure looking towards him with a glum expression, "I have thought of my second wish-- I _order_ you to kill those before me!"

Obviously, Jafar didn't get the memo.

"Err...look, chief, I hate to break it to ya," The Genie muttered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "But that's one of the few things I _can't_ do."

"What?!" Jafar bellowed, practically breathing fire down upon the Genie, "You said you could grant me any command!"

"I _tried_ to explain the rules to you, but you didn't--"

"Bah!" Jafar rudely cut off the Genie, "Very well, if you won't kill them...grant me the power to do so _myself_! Make me the most _powerful_ sorcerer the world has ever known!!"

"I--" Genie hesitated, but the power of the lamp compelled him to do so. The blue-color of his skin began to pale considerably, slowly raising a finger towards his current master.

"G-Genie, wait!!" Aladdin pleated, looking over at his friend with panic in his eyes, "You can't do this--!!"

Genie looked down at Aladdin with a pained expression, "I'm sorry, Al...but I have a new master now..." He muttered, bracing himself as the magic flew from his fingers, "Ohhh, I'm going to _regret_ this later..."

The magic from Genie quickly engulfed Jafar, surrounding him in sparking energies. Even though Sora was no expert on magic, he could _feel_ the sinister energies greatly multiplying with the treacherous snake. Though Jafar didn't change physically, his aura magnified considerably, filling the entire room with his vile venom. A chill ran down Sora's spine, watching in horror as the magic finished it's course, Jafar lowering back down to the pedestal.

Even if he had his doubts about the lines between good and evil, Sora _knew_ Jafar was the villain here.

"Hahahaha..." Jafar chuckled sinisterly, admiring himself, "AHAHAHAHA!!" He threw his head back as he cackled menacingly, gripping tightly onto his staff. "Yes! _YES!!_ I could easily conquer _all worlds_ with this might! Absolutely _divine_!" His own admiration of himself quickly subsided, turning his gaze down towards Aladdin and his friends. A dark smirk twisted it's way across his thin face, his eyes practically _glowing_. "And I can see who will be the _perfect_ guinea pig for my new found might!"

Snapping his staff downwards, he released a massive blast of red-and-orange energy crackling with power. Shidou was quick to slide in front of the group summoning her green barrier around herself. However, the new might Jafar had acquired was too much for it to maintain; it easily shattered her barrier like a glass globe, hitting her square in the chest. She let out a pain-filled scream as she was flung to the other side of the room, crashing roughly against the wall. She fell down and slumped against the floor, unconscious.

"Shidou!" Sora cried out in a panic, turning to look in on his friend. He heard another blast crack through the air, and if Ashi hadn't grabbed him and forced him to the ground, he would have easily suffered the same fate.

"This isn't good!" Ashi hissed, rolling onto her back and jumping up and to the side as another blast burned a massive hole into the ground. "Jafar's become powerful - _too_ powerful!"

Sora pursed his lips together. If only the Magic Knights where here, with them - instead of in Traverse Town - they could summon their Rune Gods and _end_ this fight! But how could he, Ashi and Aladdin defeat this mightily sorcerer on their own?

An idea came to Sora as he rolled out of the way of another attack. He quickly looked up to Jafar, realizing that although he wielded immense power, he was leaving himself very vulnerable to attack. Even though all Sora and his friends could do was dodge, if they offered a sufficient enough of a distraction...

He shot a glance over at Ashi, who met his gaze carefully. It was if they had the same idea. Tucking and rolling, Sora neared Aladdin and whispered hastily to him; "Ashi and I will distract Jafar...you go in while he's pre-occupied!" The desert-born man nodded his head.

"Right."

Dodging another attack, Ashi quickly rushed for Sora and scooped him up in her arms. In a flash, she summoned her black wings and shot in the air, flying as high as she could. Jafar followed them with his eyes, aiming another blast towards them.

"We have one shot at this..." Ashi said to Sora, the boy nodding his head. "I won't be able to dodge fast enough with you."

"Then that's all we'll need." Sora said confidently, quickly focusing his magic into Ashi. Before Jafar could attack them while they summoned their Limit Break, Aladdin was able to sneak in behind the sorcerer. He raised his sword up, ready to bring the pommel of it down to stun Jafar, when he suddenly snapped around. A massive blast of invisible energy rocked out from him, knocking Aladdin into the near-by wall, where Jafar sped up to him, encircling his twisted hand around the urchin's throat.

"Foolish _whelp!_ " Jafar hissed, digging his finger nails into the flesh of Aladdin's neck, "Did you honestly think I would _fall_ for that?!"

Sora quickly lost his concentration, the Limit falling short. "Aladdin!" He shouted, frantically looking up at Ashi. If they performed their Limit now, Aladdin would be hurt, too! But they had to do something, before Jafar choked the street rat to death. Ashi quickly swung around in a circle, throwing Sora down towards Jafar; Sora drew his Keyblade and prepared to stab it into the back of the sorcerer's head, but that, too was thwarted.

Jafar let go of Aladdin and snapped around, knocking the Keyblade aside with his staff. And, with his free hand, he released a blast of scarlet energy into Sora's stomach, sending the boy flying off of the pedestal and crashing into the ground below.

"U-ugh..." Sora groaned. It felt like his whole _body_ was on fire; prickling heat radiated out from his chest and all the way down his appendages, even to the tips of his fingers and toes. Still, he tried to right himself, using the Keyblade as a crutch.

"Sora!" Ashi shot down from the air, quickly coming down to him and standing in a defensive position in front of Sora, holding her Naginata at the ready.

"Fools!" Jafar cackled, "You insist on fighting, yet I have already won! I am the _strongest_ being in the universe! There is nothing--"

"...Except for...the Genie..." Aladdin hissed, slowly rising up from the ground and holding his sore and bleeding neck.

Jafar quickly snapped his head around towards his rival, " _What_?" He snapped, his eyes narrowing.

"The Genie is more powerful then you'll _ever_ be!" Aladdin continued, sounding more determined then his strained voice should have sounded like. "He gave you that power...he can take it away!"

"A-Al...why are you bringing me into this...?" Genie muttered nervously.

Aladdin ignored him, continuing, " _Think_ about it, Jafar! Think of what you could do-- why, _no one_ could ever bow to you!"

"Hm..." Jafar stroked his chin and his curled beard, "...You do have a point, _brat_. His power does exceed my own..."

"W-what...what is Aladdin...?" Sora asked weakly, looking up with a mixture of horror and terror over at Aladdin and Jafar.

Ashi narrowed her eyes, "...I see..." She muttered to herself, more then to anyone else. Sora looked up at her with a confused expression, his brows knitted together. Ashi didn't care to elaborate, but her defensive posture _did_ relax a bit. What was Aladdin getting at...?

"Slave!" Jafar turned to the Genie, his eyes blazing. "I will make my third and final wish! You will make me into an all-powerful Genie!!"

The Genie was nearly _white_ by now, absolutely terrified of what the wish implied. His brows furrowed and slowly, he raised his hand towards Jafar. "...As you command... _master._ " He said the word sarcastically, though his words dripped with dread and fear. Closing his eyes, he summoned his magic, surrounding Jafar.

Sora could only watch in horror as the transformation began.

Jafar quickly changed forms. His slender, human figure began to shift and morph, changing into the body of a Genie. His legs turned into a wisp of spoke, his torso became larger and more ripped, and his skin turned into a red hue. The entire room they were in exploded with violent scarlet energy, Ashi quickly wrapping her arms and wings around Sora in a means to protect him from the onslaught.

From over her shoulder, he continued to watch.

Jafar cackled madly, summoning mighty magic as a demonstration of his new-found and terrifying powers. "Behold! The power of the _universe_ bends to my will!!" He raved, his voice a mutated form of it's original self, "Ahahaha! Glorious!! Soon, all of the worlds will be under _my_ control!! Nothing you can do will _stop me_!!"

"Except for one thing!"

Jafar snapped his head down towards Aladdin, who stood confidently on the pedestal. He held up a black lamp that had formed at his feet, raising it up with a cocky smirk.

"You have all of the power of a Genie...and _everything_ that goes with it!!" He smirked, golden bangles snapping onto Jafar's wrists.

"W-what...?!" He yelped, looking down in panic at the lamp. Aladdin chuckled a bit as Jafar was quickly sucked into the apparatus, screaming the whole way. In an instant, Jafar was gone, locked within the black lamp within Aladdin's hands.

" _Phenomenal cosmic power_...itty bitty living space," He snarked, tossing the lamp to Genie.

Genie's jaw dropped to the floor - quite literally! - upon this revelation. Once he picked it up again, he stumbled over his words before getting his footing; "A-Al!! I can't believe you managed to out-wit Mr. Snake-Eyes!" He whooped, whooshing down and pulling Aladdin into a tight bear hug, giving him a noogie. "You are one smart son-of-a-gun!!"

"T-thanks, Genie..." Aladdin muttered from behind the blue flesh of his friend, managing to slip out from the vice-grip before the life got chocked out of him. "Now he won't be bothering us anymore!"

"W-wow...!" Sora exclaimed breathlessly, his eyes as wide as saucers. He was impressed with how quickly Aladdin was able to think; to brush up against Jafar's inflamed ego, made him feel threatened, then trapped him! If only Sora was that smart, maybe he would have come up with a similar solution to their problem.

Ashi released him from her protective stance, her wings returning to her back. "You should see to Shidou." She said simply. Sora squawked, having forgotten about her temporarily in the rush of events. Pushing himself up to his feet - trying to ignore the burning daggers shooting through his system in the process - Sora went over to the still-unconscious Shidou.

Holding his hands out over her, he focused on the curative magic he had summoned on Cephiro to save Ashi's life. The same familiar feeling ran though him, followed by a pretty blue aura that came out from his finger-tips, surrounding Shidou. Within moments, she stirred; her eyes opening and the welt on her stomach began to mend and be restored. Groaning, she raised a hand to her forehead and blinked her eyes open.

"...Didya get the plate of the bus that hit me...?" She muttered, managing to cock a weak grin.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a bit wiped out by the magic, "Don't worry, we made sure that hit-and-run was brought to justice!" He responded with a low chuckle.

Shidou pushed herself up and used her own magic on him. "Man, I didn't know you could _heal_ now, kid! Trying to _steal_ my _thunder_ , eh?!" She teased, elbowing him in the sides.

Sora flushed a bit, "W-well, I did it to save Ashi, back in Cephiro..." He muttered, poking his index fingers together.

"Oh, to save _Ashi~?_ " Shidou said in a sing-song voice, smirking down at him. Sora turned even redder in response, "I _figured_ as much." She chuckled, hopping to her feet and helping Sora up to his. They approached Ashi, Sora looking up at Aladdin and Genie before them, who had left the pedestal.

"That still leaves Jasmine to find..." Aladdin heaved a heavy sigh, "We've searched the whole cavern, and there's still no sign..."

"I...I hate to break it to ya, Al..." Genie muttered sheepishly, "...But the first wish Jafar asked of me was to find and unseal the Keyhole here...it--" He paused, glancing at Sora and the others out of the corner of his eye, before laughing nervously down at Aladdin, "It took her _real_ far away! Farther then Agrabah!"

Aladdin's head hung even lower at this. "...Oh..."

"But it's not the end of the world, Al!" Genie clapped Aladdin roughly on the back, sending him lurching forward. "You still got one wish left from me, right?! Just say the word, and she'll be back here lickity-split! Right?!" He smiled awkwardly down at Aladdin, who raised his head to meet his gaze.

"...I..." There was a slight hesitation as he spoke, the Genie mock rolling up sleeves and prepared to bring Jasmine back. "...I wish for your freedom, Genie."

"Alright, one Jasmine coming right-- _ **EH**_ _?!"_ Genie stopped in mid-sentence, the bangles on his wrists snapping off and clattering to the ground. The wisp of smoke of his tail vanished, turning into a pair of legs. The golden lamp he was summoned from glowed briefly, before clattering to the ground, the magic within it completely gone. Genie stood there, dumbfounded, turning towards the lamp and picking it up.

"I...I don't understand..." He quickly turned his attention back to Aladdin, "Al, you had the power to bring her back! Why did you _waste_ it?!"

Aladdin shook his head, "I made a promise to you, Genie," He said quietly with a slow smile, "You deserve your freedom. I'll find Jasmine - I _know_ I will."

"I--" Genie chocked up a bit, "I...I'm _free_...?" Aladdin gave a small nod of his head and a weak smile in response.

Sora felt a little heart-broken, seeing Aladdin's face. Although they had only met Jasmine in passing, it was clear that she and Aladdin did deeply care for each other - perhaps even _loved_ one another. Love...Sora reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out the charm from Zagato's headpiece, looking at it in his palm. He and Emeraude had such a sad end to their love...and now, Aladdin was robed of his love, too.

Was it all doomed from the start...?

Genie seemed to pick up on it too. Hesitantly, he reached out and placed a warm hand on Aladdin's shoulder. "Al...look, I know I can't actually help you now...but I can't ever repay you for freeing me. But...I can tell you this." He paused, looking over to Sora, "Where Jasmine is, you can't reach her. But _they_ can."

Sora looked up and met Genie's gaze.

"When Jafar summoned the Keyhole, a woman named Maleficent came and took Jasmine. I haven't a _clue_ where, but Jasmine's important."

Sora nodded his head at the Genie. "Right."

Aladdin looked up at Genie, then over to Sora. Taking a breath, he approached the shorter boy and met his gaze, "Sora...can I trust you to find her for me."

Sora grinned brightly up at Aladdin, "You can count on me!" He said, giving the tip of his nose a flick.

"Thanks, Sora, Ashi, Shidou." Aladdin managed to smile to, giving a nod of his head.

"No problem!" Sora gave another nod of his head. "Anything we can do to help, right?" He looked over at Shidou and Ashi.

"Right!" Shidou chirped, with a peppy little bounce. Ashi remained silent, only giving a small incline of her head in response. Strange...she had smiled earlier today, and now she was back to her usual stoic self. But Sora swore he'd get her to smile _lots_ more in the future. Grinning, he turned back to Aladdin.

"I should probably seal the Keyhole now...just so more Heartless don't get in."

He hurried over to the pedestal Jafar was on before his capture, pointing his Keyblade out straight ahead of him. With a flash of light, a beam shot out and entered into the exposed Keyhole. With a click, the Keyhole vanished; and the world was sealed again. Turning back to the others, Sora hopped down.

"We should get going, Sora," Ashi informed, the boy looking up to her and giving a nod of his head.

"Yeah..." Turning back to Aladdin and Genie, he approached the older boy and gave him a warm smile. "Aladdin...I'm sorry we couldn't get here soon enough to save Jasmine...but...we'll find her. I'm trying to find my friends, too. They're out there, somewhere."

Aladdin smiled weakly. "Yeah. Thanks, Sora."

Sora gave a nod, "Any time." Turning on his heel, he proceeded to the exit with Ashi and Shidou. "Bye, guys!"

"Be sure to drop in any time!" Genie chirped with a dramatic wave.

Aladdin looked up to Genie, after they had gone, "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

To this, Genie grinned.

  
  


"I don't _think_ so...I _know_ so!"

 


	10. The Belly of the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inside of Monstro, we see not Pinnochio, but someone else...

The trio had been flying aimlessly around for a while, now.

After Agrabah, Sora and his companions made a quick pit-stop back in Traverse Town, to make sure things were still being handled by Yuna and her ever-growing posse of lost souls without worlds. Things were still quite in order, leaving Sora some ample time to train before he, Shidou and Ashi moved on to find the next world in their quest. However, they were having no luck in running across any new worlds, leaving _more_ time for Sora to get even _more_ training in.

By now, he was getting a bit antsy.

Sure, there was lots to do and explore on Fuku, but it could only occupy him so much. He had already explored the habitat they lived in, but it was rather small once he realized most of the scenery wasn't actually _there_. There was Pokemon, of course, but he wanted to do something else. Something with his two new friends that _wasn't_ training.

Foosball was something he had fun with Shidou playing, but right now she was engrossed in her usual soap operas. He didn't understand why she was so obsessed with that junk, but eh. To each their own. Which meant the only person around he could hang out with was Ashi.

She had begun to ask him questions about Pokemon, which he was all-to-enthusiastic to explain. But after doing a bit of solo exploring, he wandered into the entertainment room and found her curled up on one of the arm chairs, a book in hand. Grinning, her bounded over to her, curious if she wanted to try her hand at it, or maybe they could explore together!

“Hey, Ashi!” Her eyes flitted up briefly from her text, before returning. “Do you want to do something? Hang out, have some fun?”

“I am having fun.” Came her simple reply. “You can go out if you like.”

Sora pouted. “I've done that! I wanna spend some time with you and Shidou, but you _know_ how she is when her shows are on!” He gestured towards her across the room, practically glued to the TV. “I can't always be by myself, I need to interact with people, too!”

Ashi sighed and looked up at him. “I've gotten that impression,” She lifted her book up slightly, “But I'm reading right now. Maybe later?”

“But I'm bored now!” Sora whined, which incited a dramatic eye-roll from Ashi.

“Sora, not everything revolves around your needs,” She snapped her book closed, “I understand that you get bored easily and need to interact with people, but I'm the opposite. I need to have alone time. When I read or garden, it's my time to be alone. I don't like being interrupted.”

“But--” Ashi's gaze turned cold and Sora stopped mid-sentence, feeling her icy gaze run down his spine. Swallowing, he looked pathetically down at her. “P-please...?”

Ashi re-opened her book and raised it up over her eyes, hiding his dejected look. “We can spend time together when I'm done.”

Sora blinked up at her, unsure of what to feel at the moment. He was getting incredibly stir-crazy by now, even with all of the training he had been doing, burning off his access energy. Sure, he was used to Ashi getting annoyed at him by now, but he still pouted at her curt response. Of course, there _was_ a small part of him that said maybe he could curl up with her and he could play some Pokemon while she read, but-- that was quickly shoved to the side when he blushed furiously at even _thinking_ it. Out of the question! But maybe she wouldn’t mind…?

About to open his loud mouth and dig himself _further_ into the grave he found himself in, Shidou suddenly popped up behind him and grabbed him by the hood of his jacket, dragging him away from Ashi. "H-hey!" He squawked, flailing his gangly arms about his head; to no avail, of course. "Let me go, Shidou!" He protested.

"Jeez Loise!" Shidou laughed, promptly tossing him onto the couch. A commercial break had broken the hypnosis on her. "Ya'd think to leave Ashi alone by now, kid!" She chuckled, crossing her arms and smirking down at him.

"Hmph..." Sora grunted, pouting again. "I'm getting tired of being cooped up in Fuku! I need to do something that isn't exploring or gaming!" He complained, rolling onto his back and folding his arms behind his head, glaring at the ceiling. "I just wish she'd ease up a bit..."

"Kid, never talk to a book-worm when they're reading!" Shidou chuckled, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch from where Sora was laying. "I can understand the cabin fever, kiddo, but _man!_ You should know by now how easily ticked off Ashi can get. _Especially_ when someone is pestering her!"

"...I guess..." Sora murmured, looking over his shoulder and towards Ashi, his brows furrowed together. Even though he had seen glimpses of the softer, kinder Ashi a few times, she still kept to herself and was difficult to read. Still, he remembered that soft smile she had shown him in the Cave of Wonders; of how pretty she looked when she actually did. It was nice to know that she _could_ relax a bit, even if it was seldom seen. Sora couldn't help the small grin that came to him, remembering that look on her face.

But he soon flushed, recalling the event that brought them to that point; and the stray thought about him curling up beside her...

Sora turned away from Ashi, trying to focus on the ceiling again, subconsciously touching his fingers to his lips.

 _No, no, stop it!_ He thought, squeezing his eyes shut. _You were just saving her life!_ Not that it would ever work out between them; Sora reminded himself that Ashi was a stick-in-the-mud. She was the opposite of him; cold, focused, introverted. She didn't seem to have emotions and frankly, Sora knew very little about her. He knew she liked to read and garden, couldn't swim, was a good cook and a warlord of some description. But, he knew little else. Plus, there was the age difference... _only by two years_ , his mind casually reminded him, which just made him flush more. _No, don’t be stupid!_ He huffed, crossing his arms and squeezing his eyes closed.

And there was no _way_ someone like her would _ever_ like someone like him--

Sora felt himself flush again, shaking his head and trying to get the thought out of his mind. It wasn't anything serious, after all! Just a dumb, boyish crush, right? _Right_? Despite how he desperately tried to focus on the stucco ceiling, Sora kept on finding his mind drawn back to her; wondering how he _could_ even think about her like that. Sure, Ashi was pretty, but she was _boring_! Too focused on her duty to care about little else. He even doubted she _had_ emotions under that icy exterior. Right?

"...Right." Sora said more to himself then anyone else, closing his eyes and giving a frustrated nod of his head. Shidou quirked an eyebrow up at this, but only smirked and reclined further into her chair.

Well, daydreaming certainly wasn't helping! Sighing, Sora sat back up and was about to ask Shidou if they could continue training, when Fuku suddenly yowled loudly.

"Sheesh, hungry _again_?" Shidou commented with a grin, still relaxed in her chair, "We _just_ fed you about 10 pounds of carrots all of, what?" She looked down at Sora with a cheerful expression, " _Two_ hours ago?" Sora only gave a shrug of his shoulders in response, still amazed that the ship ran on _carrots_ of all things.

Another yowl came from the living-ship. It wasn't her usual cries of protest - of either hunger or the need for attention - but more... _frantic_. A third yowl came, this time louder and more aggravated. By now, Shidou looked a bit more concerned, “What's up, Fuku?”

Something suddenly rocked the ship. Sora rolled off of the couch and landed hard on the floor, giving a groan in response. Shidou practically flew off of the couch, and Ashi's book collided with the opposite wall. “What in Yomi?” He heard Ashi gasp from her corner of the room.

Popping to her feet, Shidou ran outside. “Turn the sky off!” She shouted, Fuku complying. The sunny, cloud-dotted blue sky faded to show the vast expanse of space zipping past them. Shidou's teal eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the disturbance. Sora and Ashi followed after.

It didn't take them long to see it.

“Oh...” Came Ashi's breathless reply, Sora's eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

"W-wha-...what the _heck?!_ " He gasped, his eyes going wide as a massive _whale_ shot past the ship. It was so big it could've easily swallowed Fuku whole! How could such a thing exist, in _space_ no less?!

"What in tarnation--?!" Shidou yelped, Fuku dodging it's attack again and flinging the group down onto the grass, "Who thought it would be a good idea to put a giant _whale_ out here?!" The whale turned around and lunged - swam? - back towards Fuku, and the cabbit-ship barely avoided it again; it seemed intent on murdering the group in one fell swoop. " _Crap-baskets_!!" Shidou hissed, having been flung right into a rock.

The whale doubled back around, and Fuku yowled again. This time, she wouldn't be able to dodge the attack. Sora watched in horror as the whale opened it's giant maw towards the ship. Shidou ran her hands down her face. “...The Masters save us all!”

Sora squeezed his eyes closed as the mouth engulfed around the ship, and swallowed them whole.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


"...Ra..."

Sora became dully aware of his senses. His body felt sore; not like after training, more like been had hit with something rather large. He couldn't feel much else but the soreness. He was laying down, that was for sure; but beyond that, he had no idea where he was or what had happened.

"...Sora..."

Sora groaned, hearing his name being called. Beyond the voice, he heard what sounded like lapping water, and a strange almost...rumbling sound. He couldn't put his finger on what the sound was, just that it was _there_. Then, came the scent of wet wood and sea-water, and another unpleasant smell he couldn't figure out, either.

"...Sora!"

Groaning again, Sora managed to blink his eyes open. "Sora!" The voice called out to him again, his blurry vision slowly coming into focus.

"Sora!" A female voice called out, "Sora, are you alright?"

It was like he was back on his island again; the smell of damp wood and sea-water, the waves cresting against the shore. And sitting over him was the familiar face of one of his best friends, looking down at him the same way she did back when this all started.

...Or did it? Suddenly, in this state of confusion, Sora wondered if he had dreamed it all.

"Mmph..." Sora blinked his eyes, grinning slowly. "...F-fine, just...a bit sore, Kairi."

"...Kairi?" The voice of Kairi said in a colder tone. Blinking his eyes again, Sora noticed the usually warm face of Kairi suddenly grew cold and withdrawn, her eyes being much paler then he remembered. But in his foggy mind, he wasn't sure what was wrong. "...You must have hit your head, Sora. I'm not Kairi."

"...Huh?" Sora blinked again, rubbing his eyes. Slowly, the fuzziness surrounding the familiar face and appearances of his friend began to clear, her facial structure changing completely. No longer did he see the warm, rounded face of Kairi, but the more mature face of Ashi. "Wh-wha...?" He asked in confusion, staring up at the older woman who knelt beside him, leaning over.

"Did you forget who I am?" Ashi said, almost teasing. _Almost_.

"I-I remember _fine!_ " Sora gasped with a slight flush to his cheeks, sitting upright and rubbing the back of his head. "I-I just...thought for a moment--" He stopped when he realized where he was, exactly.

It certainly wasn't his Island.

Frankly, he wasn't even sure _where_ he was. He and Ashi appeared to be on an old, dilapidated old-fashioned ship of sorts, sitting in what appeared to be some kind of underground lake. There was enough light to see by for some reason, and as he looked out across the expanse, he noticed many _other_ old tall ships floating around in the lake. An obviously salt-water lake, if his nose had anything to say about it.

Odd, how the ships ended up in there. It was almost like a ship _graveyard_ ; but he could see no entrance they could have sailed into, let alone how he and Ashi _got_ there. And that other scent he smelled...

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Sora turned back to Ashi when she said this, feeling her hands reach out and grope around his head. Flushing, he waved her hands off, "I-I'm fine, really! Just...the sound of the water reminded me of home..." He tried not to feel homesick with this statement, hastily shaking his head to get the feeling out of it. "Where are we, anyway?"

Ashi rose up to her feet, obviously comfortable enough on the ship to not be frightened of the water. "We're inside of that whale's mouth." She informed.

"Eh?!" Sora exclaimed, popping to his feet.

He quickly looked forward, spotting a massive row of _teeth_ at the entrance...and the waves moved back and forth, as if a massive tongue was moving them. _That_ explained that incredibly unpleasant smell below the salt water. And the rumbling must have been the whale's breathing, or heart-beat...or both, for that matter. Come to think of it...he _did_ remember being swallowed by the thing, but he blacked out shortly there-after.

"Fuku managed to teleport us out before we got swallowed completely," Ashi informed, crossing her arms. "It was fortunate that she put us on this ship, or else--" Her voice trailed off as she paled slightly, looking past Sora and towards the dark, murky water below. But, she quickly shook her head and continued, "T-though the landing was... _less_ the gentle."

That explained why Sora hurt all over, and why he was unconscious for a while. Ashi, too, looked a bit scuffed up from the rough landing. However, as he took in the surroundings a bit more, he quirked an eyebrow and looked over towards her.

"Where's Shidou? Do you think that--" He didn't even want to _think_ about the notion that Shidou might've encountered a 'rough landing' and was now floating in the water, somewhere.

"She's fine, Sora," Ashi said, lowering her arms and glancing down towards where the base of the whale's tongue reached the end of the mouth cavity. "She's trying to find Fuku - after she teleported us all out, it seems like she was swallowed further down."

"Oh! That's a relief." Sora breathed a sigh out, glad that his other friend hadn't been too roughed-up by the landing. However, it took the simple boy a few moments to realize the gravity of what Ashi had said afterwards. 1...2...3..." _Crap!_ If we lose Fuku, how are we going to get out of here?!" While he was worried not only about managing to escape this giant whale without a ship, he also liked the cabbit-ship a great deal. He considered her a friend, too; he didn't want her to get lost, either!

"That's why we're worried," Ashi groaned, putting her face in her hands. “I can fly, but I can't support both of you and I...I don't know what it's like out there, so--” She stopped and sighed. “Without Fuku, we're completely stuck!

Sora was instantly at her side, placing a large hand against her shoulder. He looked up at the older girl with concern in his blue eyes, "We'll find her, Ashi." To his surprise, she didn't flinch or turn away from the gesture, running her hands through her purple hair and sighing.

She looked down at him, a smile tugging at her lips; "...Thanks, Sora."

Sora gasped and quickly looked away, feeling a fresh flush threatening to emerge, "N-no problem, Ashi." He muttered, scratching the tip of his nose.

Ashi pulled away from him when someone landed on the deck. Sora looked up and saw Shidou standing there, a little wet from swimming around a bit, replacing her yo-yo's back at her sides.

"Any luck?" Ashi asked, her voice back to it's usual icy quality.

"Nope!" Shidou responded in a chipper tone, causing Ashi to glare down at her. Obviously not phased by this, Shidou smirked slightly, "I couldn't get very far in. This sucker's esophagus is wide enough for us to walk through without getting crushed, but jeez-o-petes!" She exclaimed, putting a hand to her forehead, "This sucker must've eaten an entire _nest_ of Heartless! I had to back out before I got swamped."

Ashi sighed, raising her hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples, "Can't swing a dead cat around anywhere without hitting one of those things..." She muttered dryly, lowering her hand, "Looks like we'll all have to go check it out, now that Sora's awake."

"Alright! Follow me!" Shidou chirped, leaping down off of the ship and wading through the water towards the esophagus of the whale.

And somehow, Sora didn't like this idea. Not one bit.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


Apparently, Sora wasn't _quite_ up-to-date with his whale physiology.

They had wandered through multiple cavities of the whale's stomach, fighting Heartless and dodging stomach acid all the while. They seemed to be running around in circles at this point; and the whole experience was not only tiring, but very disgusting. He had no idea how far they had wandered, but _really_ didn't want to venture into the whale's bowels. Ashi's powers were too muddled by the flesh they wandered in to pin-point where they were headed.

One good thing that came out if it was that Sora was _absolutely positive_ he didn't ever want to go into the field of Marine Biology.

However, there was no sign of Fuku anywhere.

"Where could that little fur-ball have gotten to?" Shidou exclaimed, letting loose one of her yo-yo's to disburse the last of the group of Heartless that had sprung up. "We've been wandering for _hours_ , and no sign of her!"

"Probably in circles," Ashi sighed in exasperation, leaning her Naginata against her shoulder, "I have honestly _no_ idea where we are now."

"Everything looks the gosh-darn same!" Shidou grumbled, scratching her head, "Even the bits-and-pieces of ships we've come across look the--" She stopped suddenly, blinking her eyes in confusion.

Sora turned to look back at her, "...Shidou, what's wrong?"

She raised an eyebrow, "...Weird, I coulda _sworn_ something just brushed past me..." She looked about her, but the three of them were alone, and no Heartless were around. "...Ah, well."

"Strange," Ashi muttered, lowering her Naginata from her shoulder to a relaxed position at her sides, "I also have the feeling like someone - or some _thing_ \- is following us."

Sora arched an eyebrow. "Err...I haven't noticed anything?" He admitted, looking around the empty stomach cavity they were in, "Maybe it's just more Heartless?"

Ashi shook her head, "No, I don't think so," She informed, looking down at him, "The Heartless have a very distinct presence. This other one is... _different_. I'm not sure who or what it is, but we should be cautious."

"Yeah, especially if they're so good at hidin'!" Shidou chuckled, folding her arms behind her head, "Let's keep going, though!"

"Right..." Sora said meekly, giving a nod of his head as the trio continued. He wondered, though; who else could be here besides the Heartless? Well, there was Fuku, but she wouldn't hide from them. But, his mind quickly wandered towards his lost friends; Kairi and Riku. Kairi wasn't the type to hide from him, she'd probably be so overjoyed to see Sora again that she'd probably tackle him right into a vat of stomach acid. Riku, however...

Hope fluttered in Sora's chest. Maybe Riku was here! He was so lost in this hidden hope that he nearly plowed right into Ashi when she abruptly stopped.

Sora was quickly pulled from his thoughts and into reality; and none too soon. A new slew of Heartless had appeared, ready to attack the group of adventurers. Summoning his Keyblade, Sora leaped into the fray along side Ashi, but soon noticed the absence of someone else...

"Err, guys, bad news!" Shidou's voice cracked over the fray, Sora turning his head around to see her standing there, frantically digging in her pockets.

"What?" Ashi shouted, swinging her Naginata around and cleaving through a group of Heartless.

"I can't find my fang-dangled Yo-yo's!" Shidou yelped, turning the pockets of her jacket inside out. Sora gaped at her for a few seconds, totally oblivious as a Heartless lashed out at him, cutting into his arm.

Giving a startled cry, Sora quickly bit down on his lower lip and swung around, driving the Keyblade through it and disbursing it to the darkness. He heard Ashi hiss a string of what sounded like curses under her breath, driving her Naginata into the ground and releasing a torrent of black lightning to destroy the remaining Heartless. Once they were gone, she quickly turned around to Shidou, who was _still_ digging in her pockets.

"Are you sure you didn't misplace them?" Ashi asked; though her voice was very sharp.

"Positive! I've emptied all of my pockets!" Shidou confirmed, patting her pants pockets both in the front and the back. "I _know_ I put them in my jacket, like I always do!" She wagged the inside-out pockets in her jacket to demonstrate. "They've up and walked away!" Shidou's voice, which was usually so cheerful, was clearly frustrated.

"I can't believe this..." Ashi sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Do you think you dropped them?" Sora asked tentatively, quickly casting some of his own cure magic on his bleeding arm.

"No way! I felt them in there earlier!" Shidou grumbled, turning her pockets back to the inside of her jacket.

"Weird..." Sora muttered, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. However, he stopped in mid-scratch when he noticed something of _his_ was missing, too. "H-hey...!" He exclaimed, looking down at his chest. He quickly patted it, then reached around his neck. "My crown charm is missing!" Odd, he _knew_ he had it on him when he woke up on that ship! Where could it have--

"Oh, for the love of--" Ashi growled, touching a hand to her sash. " _My_ Wakizashi is gone, too."

"What in the _heck_?!" Shidou exclaimed with exasperation, "Who's stealing our stuff?!"

Well, that certainly wasn't like _Riku_.

Sora's heart would've sunk normally, but he was too busy being annoyed that someone had taken the crown necklace he always wore; a gift he cherished. There was a thief around here, and they were so _good_ that he, nor either of Sora's female companions noticed the theft happen.

"...Oh, _great_." Ashi muttered sarcastically, checking the supplies she carried, "All of our potions are gone!"

Shidou quickly checked herself, too. "...Fudge-bunnies! So's our _money!_ " She hissed, her eyes darting around to see if there was anyone around who could claim the theft.

"And our other items..." Sora grumbled, also checking his stock. "What in the heck is going _on_?!"

"Heartless?" Shidou looked up to Ashi as she said this, "Otherwise, I'd swear by the Masters, the whale swallowed a clan of Ninja's, too!"

"Ninjas? _Shinobi?_ They aren't exclusive to my world...?" Ashi muttered in surprise, Shidou and Sora nodding their heads in response. Ashi sighed and shook her head, “Possible, I suppose...but I doubt it. I don't think it's the Heartless, either. They're more likely to steal Hearts...I don't know what they'd want with our items."

Sora was just thankful his Keyblade would come back to him if whoever - _whatever_ \- was stealing their stuff tried to nab it. Ashi's Naginata was firmly in her hands, and he doubted anyone could pry it away from even her cold, dead fingers. Shidou, however, wasn't so lucky. But most of all, he was irked about his necklace! They'd have to find it, as well as Fuku.

"We need to go looking for the thieves!" Sora snapped, looking up towards Ashi as he said this, "Try to find out why they're doing this, and--"

"You must forgive my men."

Sora's voice caught in his throat as a smooth, somewhat accented voice called from behind them. He quickly turned around to see a rather handsome man standing there, with long, sandy-blonde hair pulled into a tight pony-tail. He dressed rather sharply in a leather, floor-length and sleeveless jacket; with scarves, belts, buckles and a rather baggy white, long-sleeved shirt on under his jacket. Behind him stood a group of much rougher looking men.

The man walked forward; he was taller then them by a great deal, and moved with an elegant grace. "Ever since my ship got devoured by this creature, they've taken to swiping anything that isn't nailed down to repair it," He explained, gesturing for the group of rough men to walk forward, where they deposited all of the items Sora and his companions had 'misplaced.' "Unfortunately, their old ways took over when you arrived, and started to loot the _non_ -important things." The man sighed dramatically, "But, such is the way of pirates, yes?"

Sora was about to nab the items back up and say a few things to this strange man and his...err, companions; but then his expression suddenly changed when the man uttered the word 'pirate.' Instantly, his eyes widened and he store up at wonder at this elegant man.

"P-Pirate...?" He inquired.

"Most people address us as such, certainly." The man responded with a sly grin.

"W-wow...!" Sora exclaimed, still staring up at wonder at the man, who must have been the captain, "That's so...so... _cool!_ "

He heard Ashi groan in exasperation.

The pirate captain raised his eyebrows up, "Well, I wasn't expecting such a reception from a boy my men blatantly _stole_ from," He chuckled, "Regardless, forgive my men for what they did. I have chastised them and forced them to return the stolen items. Once my ship is repaired, they'll all be swabbing the deck until it sparkles enough to blind me. Now, apologize to the nice people."

All of the pirates bowed awkwardly, "We're sorry." They said in unison.

"Wow...you don't seem much like a pirate," Shidou commented, pocketing her yo-yo's again.

"Let it be said that Captain Faris Scherwiz never served without honor and dignity." The pirate captain responded calmly, bowing gracefully at the waist.

"Thanks for returning our stuff!" Sora exclaimed excitedly, replacing his crown charm around his neck again, turning to grin broadly up at Faris. Wow, this guy was so cool! Sora had never met a _real_ pirate before! He had expected them to be like the group of rough men behind Faris, but Faris himself was so refined and elegant. He couldn't contain his boyish excitement for it, and Faris seemed to pick up on this.

He returned Sora's grin, "So, now that I have politely reminded my men that we do _not_ need shiny things...and, more over, you are the only other humans in this god-forsaken whale; might I know who you are?" Slowly, he looked from Sora and towards Ashi, his grin growing, "And, of course, your _lovely_ companions."

"O-oh, right!" Sora laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, "My name is Sora, and this is Shidou and Ashi!"

"Ashi, is it?" Faris chuckled, striding past Sora and swiftly approaching Ashi. He looked down at her with heavy-lidded eyes. "A _lovely_ name for a _lovely_ young woman." He plucked Ashi's hand up and raised it up, giving her knuckles a soft kiss. "I am more then pleased to make your acquaintance, _mi amore._ "

Sora bristled.

He wasn't even sure _why_. He had spent the whole time convincing himself that there wasn't - nor ever could be - anything between him and Ashi. Plus Ashi was a bit flushed in her cheeks, and looked genuinely startled by the gesture. Did she like it? But that couldn't be, right? She was so cold and distant! Surely one guy they just met wouldn't do that...despite this, Sora was so angry at Faris for so blatantly flirting with her! He clenched his fists tightly and pursed his lips together, trying to get himself to look away; but he _couldn't._ He kept on staring at those lips on Ashi's hand, trying his best not to react.

“U-um...could you let me go?" Ashi finally asked, looking uncomfortable by the gesture of affection. Frankly, her expression reminded Sora of the face people made when they had to pee really bad.

Faris chuckled and released her hand, rising up to his full height. "Ah, unused to affections, are we?" He chuckled; it was no longer his warm one, but a far more _amorous_ one. "I shall find a way to melt you, yet." He flicked a finger under Ashi's chin.

Sora began to _fume_.

His boyish adoration of the pirate captain had been quickly replaced with anger. Again, he wasn't quite sure why, but if he got any more upset about the situation it would be a wonder if smoke didn't pour from his ears.

The gesture Faris made broke Ashi's uncomfortable positioning, glaring at him and swatting his hand away. “I'm _not_ a prize to be won.” Her voice was cold. “You will leave me alone.”

“I do always like a _challenge_ , mi amore.” Faris chuckled, still staring at her with a seductive gaze.

"Why?" Ashi hissed, turning to glare back up at Faris, "I have stated clearly I do not want this. Though I must say I’m...rather _unused_ to a woman praising me with such obvious affections."

"Wha--?!" Sora was abruptly brought from his angered thoughts to gape up at Faris.

Once again, another chuckle, "Did I ever say that I was not?"

Sora's jaw practically hit the floor.

A...what... _a woman?!_ Sora couldn't believe it! Faris was so handsome, so tall; even her voice was somewhat deep! But, now that he knew this, he saw it; Faris did have features that were clearly feminine, not to mention Sora just now noticed a hint of cleavage from the loosely-tied shirt the pirate wore and the curve of breasts under the leather jacket. It did explain the pretty face, but... _why_ was Faris flirting with Ashi, when she was a woman, too?!

Faris seemed to pick up on this, placing her hands on her hips, "Male or female, what does it matter?" She chuckled, still eyeing Ashi. "Yes, I happen to find other woman attractive. Is that _so_ wrong? You obviously find _this_ woman attractive, do you not, Sora?" She looked down at Sora with a sly grin, gesturing towards Ashi.

"I--!!" Sora gasped, feeling himself turn bright red at the comment.

Thankfully, he didn't need to dignify an answer to Faris' statement. Ashi quickly lowered her Naginata from it's relaxed position, her gaze turning intense. The pirate captain sighed and turned away from her, just in time to see another mass of Heartless appear. From her hip she pulled a large, ornate and old-fashioned looking pistol, resting it against her shoulder.

" _More_ of them. Lovely." She commented, "Men! Clear a way to the ship! I will return shortly!" She instructed, the pirates withdrawing their weapons and quickly cutting a line through the creatures. Fairs pointed her pistol towards one of the Heartless, firing off a round and disbursing it.

Sora, Ashi and Shidou leaped into action as well, cutting through the creatures rather well. With Fairs covering them with her long-ranged shots, the group destroyed the last of the Heartless within a matter of moments. Ashi returned her Naginata to it's relaxed position, Fairs lowering her pistol down and twirling it around her long finger, replacing it within it's holster.

"It is not safe within the stomach cavities of this beast," Faris informed the group, turning on her heel to face them, "Those creatures keep on appearing, but where my ship is it appears to be much less...crowded? If you would care to join me until it is rebuilt."

"No way!" Sora snapped, quickly closing his mouth when he realized he practically _yelled_ at Faris. Feeling her gaze upon him, he flushed a bit and scratched his head, "E-err...I mean...we're looking for our ship, too!" He explained awkwardly.

"We were cast out of her and she got swallowed further down," Ashi continued to explain, "But we haven't seen her since."

"I see...so we've both lost something in these depths..." Faris mused, more to herself then to anyone else.

"Whaddya mean by _that_?" Shidou inquired with a raised eyebrow, "I thought you knew where your ship was!"

Sighing, Faris shook her head, "Yes, that is true...but I also lost a dear friend in here." As she said this, there was a hint of pain in her usually even tone. In that moment, seeing the pirate captain's distant expression, Sora temporarily forgot why he was upset at her and felt pity for the woman. Sighing, Faris shook her head, "It appears as if our ends align. If you help me search for my friend, and I help you find your ship, perhaps we can consider ourselves allies?"

"Another set of eyes couldn't hurt!" Shidou chirped, "Besides, you seem to know your way around! We've been lost for _hours!_ "

"So I've noticed." Faris chuckled, crossing her arms. "Let us be off; the more we linger in one spot, the more these strange creatures will swarm us."

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


Fairs was a natural-born leader.

By now, Sora was used to following Ashi around, as her sense of direction was better then his was. But now, Faris took the lead of the group and guided them through the depths of the whale's innards. She was mature and collected, but also friendly and highly charismatic. It was no wonder why those rag-tag pirates followed her so willingly; and if Sora wasn't too busy fuming at her, he'd respect her immensely. Plus she was skilled with both her pistol and dual swords, making the clearing out of Heartless much easier to contend with.

Fairs explained how they came to be in the whale; they used her friend, an enormous sea-dragon named Syldra, to escape her world before it was consumed by the Heartless. It was there that they got eaten by the whale, and her companion had vanished ever since.

All the while, still flirting with Ashi.

Ashi veneered from either being annoyed by it – which didn't deter Faris at all – or she would become flustered and embarrassed by it. It still annoyed Sora immensely. Just when he thought he was getting used to the female pirate, she'd drop a comment towards Ashi and he'd get angry all over again. And, of course, Shidou teased him about it.

"Jeez, kid! You're going to turn _green_ soon, with all of that jealousy towards Faris!” She laughed, giving him her trademark slap on the back.

Sora huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm not upset about that." He lied; it was more to himself then to Shidou, who chuckled in response.

" _Sure_ you're not." She snickered, folding her arms above her head.

Sora flushed at this, looking off to the side, "I-I'm just _confused_ as to why she keeps on flirting with Ashi, when Faris is a woman, too!" He tried to make up an excuse for why he was feeling so upset about this.

"Sheesh, you've never seen a lesbian before?" Shidou sighed, shaking her head.

"A-a _what_?" Sora blinked, nearly causing Shidou to trip over herself in shock.

"Jeez! Kid, what kind of rock have you been hidin' under?!" She gaped, laughing awkwardly. Sora pouted up at her, causing her to sigh and scratch her head, "Look, about one-in-ten people are homosexual - ya'know, liking the same gender? - lesbians are the women who like _other_ woman. It's genetically ground into their system!"

Sora blinked his eyes. He _had_ heard about it, but he didn't know much about it. Considering he was only 14 and only knew what sex ed taught him in school, they neglected _that_ part. Personally, he didn’t see anything wrong with it; people could love whomever, right? But he just wanted to sound like he wanted an excuse why he was annoyed with Fairs constantly hitting on Ashi. _That’s_ what bugged him.

"If it makes you feel better, I think she's more irritated then infatuated with Faris," Shidou offered, patting his shoulder. “I don't think she's used to having people hit on her – especially another woman! - so I think that may be why she's getting embarrassed by it.” She raised her arms over her head and cracked her shoulders. "But, I digress. Don't let it eat at ya, kid! I don't think Fairs is _serious_ with her flirting."

Sora continued to look confused. "Err...why do you think that?" He muttered.

"Well, if you look at her body language, you can tell she's just--" Shidou stopped talking when she noticed Ashi abruptly stopped and lowered her Naginata down into a more defensive position. "Another wave?" Shidou inquired, instinctively reaching for her yo-yo's.

Ashi's eyes narrowed. "No. This it...it feels... _different_." She muttered, her left hand tensing around the shaft of her Naginata. Her cold eyes looked straight ahead of them and towards the exit of the cavity they happened to be in.

"'Different?'" Shidou quirked a tense eyebrow up. "What do you mean by that?"

"It feels like the time when Clayton--" Ashi didn't even get a chance to finish.

"...My ship's in there!" Faris shouted abruptly, quickly withdrawing her pistol and rushing forward. "Those blasted creatures won't have her!"

"Darn it! Come on, let's go!" Shidou hissed, dashing after the pirate captain.

They entered into a very large cavity; it appeared to be the last area of the whale's stomach, with acid floating around them. In the back, blocking the exit - no doubt the whale's bowls - was a massive pirate ship that was looking no worse for wear. However, that wasn't what caught their attention...

"Heartless!" Sora gasped, gawking at the massive thing that hovered before them. It looked to be some kind of massive parasite of sort, and Faris' men were firing off rounds from their pistols...but it looked to be the equivalent of throwing bonbons at the thing.

"Men! Fall back to the ship!" Faris shouted, aiming a careful round towards the creature, charging it with flame magic. "Prepare the canons to take this bastard down!" The pirates obliged their female captain and hurried back to the ship. Bracing her feet against the slimy ground, she shot not a simple bullet, but a massive fireball at the Heartless. It struck it's back and it whirled around, it's narrow eyes gleaming towards the trio.

Gripping his Keyblade in his hands, Sora rushed forward and charged it with flame magic and leaped up in the air, bringing the blade down against the arm of the Heartless. But, it felt like he was hitting wall of rubber; the blade bounced off and Sora was flung in the opposite direction, doing absolutely no damage.

Gritting his teeth, Sora managed to right himself in the air and skidded to a halt along the bottom of the cavity they were in. And just in time, too! The heels of his shoes began to sizzle, the boy glancing behind him to see a large vat of stomach acid just under him.

"Ack!" He gasped, stumbling forward and panting. "That was close!"

Sora turned his attention back to the battle, but found his companions were fairing about as good as he was. Shidou's yo-yo's bounced right back at her, and Ashi's Naginata didn't do much, either. It's exoskeleton was preventing them from doing any real damage to it. And the Heartless had no mouth to speak of, so he couldn't pull the trick he had with Cerberus. Faris' fire magic wasn't working, either.

Sora was nearly knocked _back_ into the stomach acid when a loud _BANG_ echoed across the chamber, and a huge explosion came from the ship. A volley of canon fire came from Faris' ship and hit the Heartless, managing to stun it, but did little damage.

" _Now!_ " Ashi's voice echoed out, "Focus your fire while it's stunned!"

Sora took this initiative to burst forward again, swinging his Keyblade at the monstrous creature again. But, like before, the Keyblade bounced right off.

"Fudge bunnies!" Shidou cursed in her own unique way, calling her yo-yo's back. "Even stunned it's impossible to damage!"

"We need to weaken it's armor," Ashi deduced, twisting her Naginata in her hand and extending her off-hand outwards. Placing it on the floor, she released a wave of ice magic towards the Heartless, surrounding it and encasing it in ice.

Sora knew that using fire magic wasn't going to work, but what else did he have? He couldn't use anything _but_ fire magic (and healing spells, but that wouldn't help here). What would conduct with the ice magic Ashi used? Well, ice was water, and...

It hit him like lightning. _Literally_.

Sora's hands sparked with new magic that found it's way in him. Without questioning it, he pointed his hand forward and released a blast of lightning energy towards the encased Heartless. With a clap of thunder, the ice shattered and the Heartless have a mighty shriek. Performing a small hop, it disappeared into black wisps of smoke; but it wasn't the same smoke released when Heartless were defeated. It seemed to be...running away, for the time being.

With the tension over, Sora blinked his eyes and looked down at his hand in astonishment. "Whoa..."

Faris lowered her pistol down and looked over at Sora. "Well, I believe we have a right wizard in our midst!"

"Where the heck did _that_ come from?!" Shidou chuckled, pocketing her yo-yo's again.

"I...have no idea, actually." Sora blinked again, calling off his Keyblade again. "I was just thinking about how to defeat the Heartless, and that ice is made out of water, and then...bam! Lightning!"

"You're practically a _prodigy_ , kiddo!" Shidou laughed, slapping him on the back. "First healing magic, now lightning? Pretty soon you'll be outclassing Ashi here!"

“Not that I’m much of a mage,” Ashi muttered in an aside, but still flashed Sora an admiring grin.

"Eh heh, I guess I'm improving!" Sora grinned, folding his arms behind his head. He would admit to turning red at the seal of approval from Ashi. "What do you think, Ashi?" He looked over towards her, she nodded in response, but quickly refocused on their surroundings. When she didn't respond, he gained a concerned expression to his face. "...Ashi?"

She jerked her head down at him. "Yes?" She asked, though her voice was still tense.

"Is...something wrong?" Sora inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Ashi narrowed her eyes and looked ahead once again. "I can still feel it's presence, but it's...dull now. I'm concerned where it got to." She informed, sighing and lowering her Naginata from it's defensive position. "We should keep moving."

"It's gone for now, right?" Faris sighed, scratching her head, "Come, my ship is right there; at _least_ rest for a bit and have some refreshments!"

"With that Heartless on the move, it might go after our means of leaving this place." Ashi snapped coldly, meeting Faris' gaze with her cold one. " _Both_ of ours."

" _Madame_ , need I remind you we have been traipsing about for several _hours_ now?" Faris said in a pointed tone, "Not all of us have your tireless energy!"

At this point, Sora's stomach gave a loud growl of protest. "I-I could use some food, to be honest..." He laughed awkwardly, putting a hand on his complaining abdomen.

"And you _know_ Sora's noodley arms start losing what gusto they have when he's hungry!" Shidou snickered, grinning over at Ashi. "Just a small break, okay? Then we can keep going!"

Obviously over-ruled in this matter, Ashi gave a sigh of defeat, holstering her Naginata. "...Fine. But keep it brief."

"Alright!" Sora chirped, grinning broadly. "Lead the way, Faris!"

"Very well. Come; it will be for but a moment." Grinning, she made a flowery gesture before heading back towards her ship, the trio following after.

  
  


~-~-~-~

  
  


After a quick lunch, some drinks and a bit of rest, the group set off again. Faris informed them that the way into the bowls was almost completely blocked by her ship, so there was no way neither Syldra or Fuku would have gotten swallowed deeper. So, they went to the only other place she could have gone; inhaled.

Thankfully, the throat was also wide enough for them to walk in, but the breathing of the whale occasionally knocked them off of their feet. The plus side was, less Heartless! But Sora couldn't help but to notice how tense Ashi was, and the further they ventured into the whale's lungs, the more tense she got.

Even he could figure out she could sense the giant Heartless' energy.

As they neared the end of the throat, beyond the whale's breathing and groaning, sounds of a...battle could be heard. Instantly, Sora's heart leapt into his throat, fearing that the Heartless was in there, fighting Fuku. Quickly summoning his Keyblade, he rushed into the lungs.

The massive Heartless was there - a bit charred from his attack - and was fighting something...and it struggling to keep up.

Bounding all around the Heartless was a small brown creature, yowling and firing bolts of red energy at the monster and nimbly dodging it's attacks. From the opposite side sat a massive creature that Sora could only describe as a wingless _dragon_. It was biting, clawing and thrashing at the monster; the Heartless was having great difficulty fending off the dynamic duo.

"Wow..." Sora muttered breathlessly, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging agape.

"Looks like Fuku started the fight without us, huh?" Shidou smirked, relaxing a bit.

"Syldra, too..." Faris looked equally astonished; especially by the tiny cabbit holding her own against the giant Heartless.

"I had no idea Fuku could do that!" Sora gasped, looking back at Shidou.

"I had no idea, either!" Shidou blinked, “I mean, I just found her at my Master’s tower and we teamed up then!”

Ashi heaved a frustrated sigh, "Enough gawking, we need to help them!" Giving a squawk, Sora readied his Keyblade and lunged into the fray.

Thankfully, his lightning spell seemed to have weakened the rubber-like defenses of the Heartless, and both Syldra and Fuku had done significant damage in their time. Testing out his new thunder magic, Sora fired off a bolt of it at the Heartless, causing it to shriek loudly again. Faris began to rapidly fire at the monster with her pistol while the three melee fighters rushed in.

Shidou managed to wrap her yo-yo's around one of the arms of the Heartless, the blades _actually_ digging into it this time. Giving a yank, she pulled it aside. With a roar, Syldra slashed down with her claws and cut the arm clean off; the arm disappearing into wisps of dark energy. With the Heartless distracted, Sora leapt into the air again and brought his flaming Keyblade down again, causing a significant dent this time. However, it grasped a hold of Sora and tossed him aside, but like before, he managed to right himself rather well.

Ashi leapt forward this time, driving her Naginata into it's stomach and forcing dark energy to rapidly expand inside of it, blowing a huge chunk out of it's side. The Heartless shrieked again, but before it could swipe at her with it's hand, Faris shot a large fireball at the offending tentacle, knocking it back.

With himself and Ashi standing opposite of one another, she and Sora locked eyes and rushed forward at the same time. Drawing their respective blades, they slashed at the Heartless from opposite sides, releasing a torrent of their own energies out. The Heartless gave a shriek and with one final fireball from Faris, began to dissipate. The monstrous creature began to vanish into curls of dark energy, before fading completely; utterly defeated this time.

Sora didn't hesitate after that.

Calling of his Keyblade, he rushed towards the panting Fuku and scooped the cabbit up in his arms. "Fuku! I'm _so_ glad you're okay!" He exclaimed, snuggling the furry creature.

"Meya~!" Fuku responded enthusiastically, purring in his arms and nuzzling against his cheek.

Meanwhile, Faris was _just_ as excited to see her friend, too. "Syldra!" She gasped, attempting to hug the giant sea-lizard. "That bastard didn't hurt you, did they girl?" The sea monster gave a contented growl in response, shaking her head. "Good. I would have had to find a way to bring the Heartless back _just_ so I could kill it again." She patted the dragon's snout happily.

"Good, we found our friends...now can we leave?" Ashi muttered, wrinkling her nose at her shoes. "It's going to take _forever_ to get the smell of this little... _excursion_ out of my clothing."

Sora laughed, scooping Fuku up and rising to his feet. "You're telling me! I can't _wait_ to leave!"

"Jeez, you don't gotta tell me twice!" Shidou chuckled, "Let's get the heckie out of dodge!"

"Agreed." Faris rose to her feet, Syldra following suit. "The sooner we leave, the better, yes?" She grinned over at the trio, before taking an elegant and sweeping bow. "I am more then honored to have fought beside the three of you. I could not have find Syldra if it were not for your timely help, my friends." Rising up, she chuckled softly, "I do not doubt our paths will cross again someday."

Shidou grinned over at the pirate. "You're more then welcome to drop by Traverse Town on your journeys! We could use all the help we can get fighting these beasties!"

Faris grinned again, "Perhaps I will, someday. But now, I must return to my crew." She swept forward once again and took Ashi's hand, but before she could go further, Ashi pulled it from her gasp. "Ah, learning quick, are we?" She gave a wink up at the stoic young woman.

"I'd thought you would have given up by now." Ashi stated with flushed cheeks, but she coughed and crossed her arms to shake it off.

"When it is so much fun to _tease_ you, my dear?" Faris chuckled, straightening up. "No, you are _far_ to icy for my tastes. But, perhaps you are better suited for someone _else's_..." Casting a glance over at Sora as she said this, Fairs smirked and turned on her heel, heading out towards the exit. "Farewell, my friends...and may the Gods watch over your path." She gave a final wave, disappearing down the throat with Syldra following close behind.

Sora couldn't help but to flush at the comment Fairs had made. What was she getting at?

"Think we'll actually ever see her again?" Shidou commented with a grin over at Ashi.

Ashi sighed softly. "Knowing the trouble she causes? I doubt this is the last we'll see of Captain Faris Scherwiz."

  
  


And, for some reason, Sora grinned, hopeful that they'd see the enigmatic pirate again.

 


	11. The Day of Fools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to La Cite des Cloches, before it became a Sleeping World!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long series of chapters for this world! 3 to be exact. This was an exhausting series of chapters to write, but in the end I'm extremely happy with them. We're now getting into my recent work! Enjoy!

"Wow!!" Sora gasped enthusiastically, his eyes going wide with excitement with what lay before him, Ashi and Shidou on the new world they discovered.

It had been almost a week since their misadventure inside the giant whale, and Sora was nothing but excited to find a real, legit world...that didn’t involve delving into the digestive track of a massive mammal. The world they landed on required a costume change - Sora finding himself in much simpler, light-weight attire with longer sleeves, pants and looser gloves.

They had appeared just down a street that led into a massive square, where everyone was gathered together for a grand festival. Music, dancing, singing; everyone was excitedly going about their day by visiting booths, partaking in events, and generally having a grand old time.

"This is _so_ cool!" Sora whooped again, looking back at his companions.

Ashi looked slightly uncomfortable. "Remember, we need to focus on our mission," She cautioned, picking up her floor-length skirt and wrinkling her nose. Sora finally got a chance to look at what she was wearing, his face instantly turning red. Not only did she have a skirt on - something he hadn't seen her in before - but a somewhat tightly laced corset and an off-the-shoulders white shirt. The corset was certainly _enhancing_ her feminine features. "Damn, _why_ did I have to be put into a dress?!" She muttered angrily, still scrutinizing the skirt.

"Oh, come on Ashi!" Shidou chuckled, who was also wearing a floor-length skirt and bodice, though her shirt wasn't _nearly_ as low cut as Ashi's was. "I'm in a skirt, too!"

"Yes, but you have _ranged_ weapons," Ashi sighed, dropping the length of the skirt down onto the ground. "I have a close-ranged weapon. I can't fight in this!"

"Aww, sure you can!" Shidou grinned, "Just, ya'know, _delicately._ "

Ashi scoffed, "I'm _not_ a delicate fighter, Shidou. I am a--"

“'Samurai Warlord', yes yes, we know.” Shidou gave a dismissing wave of her hand.

"Uh...I think you look great though, Ashi." Sora muttered sheepishly, still slightly red in the face.

"See, Sora likes it!" Shidou chirped, patting him roughly on the back, causing him to lurch forward slightly. "Haven't you ever worn a skirt before?”

Ashi rolled her eyes and snorted. "I do enjoy wearing kimono..." She said, almost with a hint of _whimsy_. Sora felt himself flush again, imagining her wearing something really pretty and flattering instead of her usual battle-ready outfit. But then she quickly scrutinized the dress, “I _never_ fight in them! I couldn't anyway, they’re too tight and restrictive! Why couldn't Fuku put me in pants?”

Shidou sighed and peered into the crowd, before turning her attention back to Ashi with a playful smirk on her face. "Prolly because no other women _is_ wearing pants, Ashi." She stuck her thumb out towards the crowd. "Do _you_ see any woman wearing pants out there?"

Sora glanced over there too, wanting to dive right into the festival. But, now that Shidou mentioned it...all of the women did have skirts or dresses on. "Come on, Ashi," He said with a small smile, looking back up at her and scratching the back of his head, "Shidou's got a point! We need to make sure we preserve the world order, right?"

Ashi crossed her arms. "Then she should have dressed me as a man. It wouldn't be the first time."

Shidou put a hand over her mouth to stifle a burst of laughter. Ashi narrowed her eyes down at the shorter woman, but said nothing. After a few moments of snickering, Shidou looked up at her companion with a sly grin. "Pah- _leez_! With your _Mickey and Minnie_?!" She jabbed her finger towards Ashi's chest as she said this, Ashi blinking and looking down at her rather sizable bosom. "You'd _never_ come off as a man with _those_ attached to you!!"

Sora, once again, found his eyes drawn to the aforementioned "Mickey and Minnie" (though he didn't get the reference), feeling the blood rush to his face upon doing so. Ashi sighed in frustration and crossed her arms, admitting her defeat.

"Alright, fine. You've proven your point, Shidou." She muttered. "Now, let's stop dawdling and head out into the crowd."

Sora quickly was shaken from his thoughts at the notion that they were _finally_ going into the festival. "Alright!" He cheered, looking over towards the crowd. He started jogging towards them, but Ashi cleared her throat loudly before he got far. Stopping in his tracks, he turned around to face the two behind him. "W-what...?"

"We should stick together," Shidou advised, "In a crowd like this, it'll be easy to get lost! But, if we do...why don't we meet by the doors of that big building over there?" She pointed across the crowd and towards a large, gothic looking building with two tall, square spires coming from it across the large court yard. Sora quickly noted it looked like a church - granted, it was ten, if not twenty, times as large as the one back home! He store in wonder at it for a few moments, before he heard Ashi clear her throat again.

"Got it, we'll meet by the church!" He said with a grin and a nod of his head.

"Yep! But try to stick close, kiddo!" Shidou laughed, slapping Sora on the back again.

He nodded his head once he recovered from the blow. "Right, got it!"

With that settled, the trio wandered into the crowd of the festival. Sora was so giddy at seeing all of the new, unique things floating around the event that he forgot he needed to stay with Ashi and Shidou. He wanted to go off and explore on his own, but he knew in the back of his mind that they still had to find the Heartless - and find his missing friends. But this was the perfect place for Riku or Kairi to go to! Sora found himself smiling at this notion; maybe they were here, somewhere!

Everything was so bright and colorful. There were people wearing costumes, mingling with those dressed like they were. There were all sorts of small events going on; people partaking in various games at booths, stations with musicians and some with dancers, everything was all going on at once!

As they wandered, they stopped at a few booths, some with items for purchase, others with fetes of strength and skill. Sora wanted to try them out, but wasn't sure if the money they carried would work in this world. Looking over his shoulder back at his companions, he measured their expressions.

Shidou was just as curious as he was, poking about booths and occasionally talking to people. Ashi, however, was he usual stoic self; her eyes looking around the area cautiously.

Feeling unnerved by how cautious she was, Sora dreaded that she was feeling what he _thought_ she felt. Scratching the back of his head, he wandered over to her. "D-do you feel them...?" He asked nervously.

"No, that's the thing...I can't feel any dark energy." Ashi noted, lowering her eyes down at him. Sora smiled up at her.

"Then, we have nothing to worry about! Let's just enjoy ourselves, alright?"

Ashi sighed, "You might be able to, but I'm worried the crowd is...muddling my senses," She noted, looking over her shoulder, "Plus, if the Heartless were to attack here...it would be _disastrous,_ with all of the people around _._ "

"Er..." Sora swallowed a lump in his throat. "I...I hadn't thought of that..." He scratched the back of his head. "We'll...just have to keep our eyes peeled, right?" Ashi looked back down at him and nodded. "L-lets keep looking around, alright?"

 _Now_ he felt really unnerved. If Ashi couldn't sense the Heartless because of the crowd...what would happen to these people? Quickly, he looked around to see if anything was amiss, but noticed there were several guards loitering about, most likely to keep the peace. It made Sora feel a _bit_ more at ease, knowing that they'd make sure the civilians got to safety if the Heartless _did_ attack.

Sora was so focused on what was off to the sides that he didn't realize what was directly in front of him. With a startled squawk, he crashed right head-long into a person and stumbled backwards...into _another_ person.

"...Sora, um--" Ashi began, as Sora had somehow found his way to fall against her _again._ The boy turned bright red and squeaked, quickly reeled backwards, nearly crashing into the person he initially rammed right into.

"Whoa there buddy!" Came a low, husky female voice. "You need to calm down, no one here is going to hurt you." Sora blinked and turned around, seeing a rather pretty, dark-skinned and dark-haired woman standing before him with pretty green eyes. She dressed differently then most of the people around, wearing a form-fitting and low-cut red dress with a long, billowing skirt; more then likely she was an entertainer for the crowds at the festival.

Sora still flushed, "I-I'm sorry I ran into you!" He apologized, giving a small bow at his waist.

"Hey, no harm done," The woman assured with a grin, "Just next time, watch what's in _front_ of you and not what's off to the sides."

"S-sorry..." Sora muttered again, scratching the back of his head.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," The woman chuckled, patting him on the head. "I know there's a lot to see at the Feast of Fools, so it's no wonder why you're distracted!"

“He does this often,” Ashi noted, straightening her dress. “I feel like I’m his personal cushion sometimes.” She flashed an almost _sassy_ smile at the comment, causing Sora to turn red again.

The woman eyed Ashi up and down, cocking a teasing smirk. “I bet.” Sora noticed Ashi’s cheeks turned pink at the comment, averting her gaze from the woman.

"My, my...I step away for two seconds and you're _already_ picking up the ladies, Sora!" Shidou teased, ruffling his hair. He flushed again at this, glaring up at her.

"I-I didn't--"

"Jeez, kiddo! You're so easy to _tease!_ " Shidou laughed. The dark-skinned woman laughed to.

"I can tell you guys are _quite_ the bunch," The woman said with another chuckle, placing a hand on her hip. "Anyway, I'm Esmeralda. In case you weren't here at the opening event, welcome to the Feast of Fools! Where every man's a king and every king's a clown!" She gestured out before her in a sweeping motion, before folding her arms across her waist and bowed.

Sora's eyes sparkled. "W-wow, that's so cool!" He cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "I can't wait to see more!" This was going to be _awesome!_ What a cool premise for a festival! But, in his enthusiasm, he momentarily forgot that the woman had introduced herself and it would be proper to introduce himself. Pausing, he laughed awkwardly and scratched his nose. "Err, sorry...my name's Sora, and these are my friends, Ashi and Shidou! It's really nice to meet you, Esmeralda!"

"A pleasure as well." Esmeralda responded with a sly grin.

"You'll have to excuse the kid here, he's _really_ easily distracted," Shidou joked, poking Sora in the sides and receiving a glare in return. "Just give him something shiny, and he'll be set for _hours!_ "

"H-hey, no fair!" Sora pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Esmeralda grinned even more, "So, are you two related or something? You certainly bicker like siblings!"

"We're not related!" Both Sora and Shidou shouted at the same time, then quickly turned to look at each other with glares. Shidou quickly looped her arm around Sora's shoulders and began to ruffle his hair whilst snickering, the boy flailing his arms trying to get out of her grasp. To this, Ashi sighed, chuckling and shaking her head.

"...Sometimes I wonder though..." She muttered.

"Uh- _huh_." Esmeralda snarked, a wide smirk across her dark features. "And I suppose that makes _you_ the odd one out, right?"

"In a manner of speaking..." Ashi shrugged her shoulders.

By now, Shidou released Sora from her noogie death-grip, the smaller boy stumbling away from her and trying to "fix" his hair - though it didn't look any different then how it _normally_ was. Esmeralda chuckled at this, eyeing the trio before uncrossing her arms.

"Anyway, I've got some time before my show...how about I give you guys a palm reading?" She offered up with a small grin.

"Eh? What's that?" Sora questioned, tilting his head to the side, confident that his hair was back "in place," such as it was.

Shidou elbowed him in the sides. "Some people use it as a means of fortune telling."

"O-Oh..." Sora laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "W-well, I guess...but why would you want to?"

Esmeralda grinned again, "Well, you guys are about the most interesting people I've met today, plus I can tell just by looking at you...you've got an _air_ about you, something different..." Her voice trailed off, her grin slowly fading. "Almost like you've seen a lot of different places before." Sora chuckled nervously at this, wondering if he was _always_ so awkward around new people in the worlds they visited; if he always stood out like a sore thumb.

"We're that obvious, eh?" Shidou chuckled, folding her arms behind her head.

"Well, to me you are," Esmeralda admitted with a nod of her head. "Most everyone here probably wouldn't recognize it, since they've never set a _foot_ outside of Paris. But let's just say...I've been around. I know a fellow traveler when I see one. Don't worry, I won't go around blabbing that you're not from around here." Leaning back slightly, she placed her hands on her hips. "So, what do you say? I'm as curious as you are!"

"Sure!" Sora chirped. "Sounds like fun, right Ashi?" He looked up at her with a broad grin across his face.

“Well--”

“We'd love to!” Shidou said in her place, Ashi shooting a pointed look down at her. “Come on, it'll be fun! Right?”

“S-sure...?” Ashi mumbled, almost uncomfortably. She shifted her weight from one foot to another. “I've never had my fortune told before...I've always been too nervous about my future.”

“Well, now's a good time to start!” Esmeralda said with an encouraging grin. “And don't worry, if you want I won't delve too far into your future, Ashi.”

“A-alright, then...”

“So, are you guys in?” Esmeralda asked, folding her arms and popping her hip out slightly.

Grinning, he bounded up to the taller woman. "You bet! I'm excited about what you have to see!" He chirped, quickly undoing the band around his wrist and tugging the glove off. Esmeralda lead him to a more secluded corner of the tents they were by, and sat him down by a table. He could still see Shidou and Ashi, Shidou apparently teasing Ashi about something, though the older girl was as quiet as ever.

"Have a seat, Sora." Esmeralda gestured, the boy eagerly sitting down and placing his now-bare - and awkwardly large - hand on the table. The elegant woman sat before him, taking his hand in hers and studying the lines along his palm. Her green eyes moved about his hand, back and forth and up and down, one of her long fingers gently along a crease along it. However, after a few moments, Sora noticed her brows furrowed and her lips pursed. Her body became a bit tense, and he wondered what was wrong...or what she saw.

That made him a bit nervous.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Sora chuckled nervously. "Ah...u-um, i-is everything alright...?" He asked tentatively, almost _afraid_ of her answer.

Esmeralda was quiet for a moment, before lifting her eyes up and meeting his. "I'm...not really sure," She admitted, looking back down at his palm. "I've never seen anything like this before..."

"W-what is it?" Sora asked again, still a bit nervous of what she'd say.

Esmeralda sighed, looking back up at him. "I've always, _always_ been able to find a line to follow, a thread that leads to a person's destiny. But yours...there's nothing here." She said in a low voice, leaning forward and resting her free arm against the table. Her eyes gained a serious expression then their usual playful glint. "There's no life line, no future, no _known_ destiny--"

" _I'm going to die_?!" Sora squawked, almost falling backwards from his chair. Esmeralda gasped and grasped his wrist, holding him and keeping him from falling backwards.

"No, no! I didn't say anything about that!" Esmeralda hastily, waving her other hand in front of her. Sora managed to regain his balance, looking over at her with a panicked look. "Even if you were going to die _right now_ , there would be a life line that ends! But there's nothing there...Sora, I think your destiny isn't pre-determined; rather, it's written _by_ you."

With the panic fading, Sora blinked his large eyes in confusion, wondering what that meant. "Err...I-I don't think I understand...?"

"I think you have a destiny _beyond_ knowing, Sora," Esmeralda continued, her voice softer now that he had calmed down. "I can't quite explain it, but I have a feeling you're going to do something _great_ with your life. I can't tell you what or when, just that _you_ control it." She smiled softly down at him. "So don't panic like that! I had a feeling when I saw you that you're _different_ , but this just confirms it."

"A...destiny beyond knowing..." Sora mused, looking down at his palm. He wondered if she was sensing the Keyblade; was it obscuring his future from her sight? Or did it just mean he was chosen to do something important? Still, he felt a _little_ disappointed that he couldn't get his fortune told..."Thanks, Esmeralda." He went to rise up, but her hand went around his wrist.

"Oh, there is _one_ thing..." She assured, giving him a grin. Blinking, Sora sat back down and she released his wrist. Leaning forward again, she drew her free index finger across the longest crease of his palm. "There is _one_ definitive line, right here."

Sora blinked again, looking down at the line. "What is it?" He asked, curious as to what it was.

Esmeralda looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Your _love line_."

The very words sent every drop of blood in Sora's body rushing up to his face, turning a deep shade of red in response. "M-m-my..." He squeaked, trying not to panic about the notion of having an unreadable palm, _except_ for his love line.

"Uh-huh." Esmeralda chuckled, clearly amused by his reaction. "Do you want to know about it?" She inquired with a playful smirk.

"I--" Sora felt his face burning and buried it in his available hand. He wasn't sure he should know about this! Okay, yes; he would admit he was crushing on Ashi! But...that didn't mean anything! Did it? But was there anything else? This wasn't like those otome games Selphie played where you found your one true love at the age of 15 or something! (Crap, what month was it anyway? Was it March yet?) And he was young, and did he really want to know this? Especially considering _nothing else_ was known about his own destiny! Except his love life. Why was _that_ , out of everything else, set in stone? Ashi kept popping up in his head, smiling that small, gentle smile at him she sometimes would show now-and again, and--

Wait, why did Riku suddenly pop up now?

Why was _he_ smiling in Sora's brain, too?!

Sora sunk down in the chair and practically melded with the table he was on. He wanted to disappear. His emotions were a swirling _nightmare_ right now! Embarrassment had taken control of his mind as both Riku's ever-cool smirk was pestering him, and so was Ashi's gentle smile! _Ugh_. Why were they both tormenting him all of the sudden?! Why was his love line set in stone?! Did he like _both_ of them? Was that what his brain was trying to tell him? Did that mean he was destined for them? Did it mean anything at all?!

WHY WAS HIS DESTINY UNKNOWN EXCEPT FOR THIS?!

“Uh...Sora?”

“ _WHA?!_ ”

Sora's tormenting, swirling thoughts suddenly crashed in his brain. He stumbled backwards...and fell _right_ out of the chair. Esmeralda gasped and rushed over to him, but he was so flustered he barely even noticed he was laying on his back and seeing stars. Stars with Riku and Ashi's pretty faces. _Oh god, no, please leave me alone!!_ Sora's mind cried out and he pressed his hands to his red face. He just wanted a nap.

“Sora, are you alright?!” Esmeralda placed a hand on his shoulder, helping him sit up.

 _Now_ the pain registered. “Oooowwww...” He groaned, his back aching and temporarily banishing all of those stupid, confused, hormonal teenager feelings away. _That's all it is, Sora._ He reminded himself. _Ashi's really gorgeous and Riku's really cool. Your just going through hormonal changes, like Mr. Samson in Health Ed said!_ His voice _was_ starting to crack awkwardly, after all! Not a stupid crush on them, right! No love lines, no confused feelings.

“I thought I lost you there!” Esmeralda patted his shoulder and offered a hand down to him. “You going to be okay?”

“Y-yeah...” Sora offered her a half grin, taking her hand and staggering to his feet. “J-just got caught up in the moment, heh!” _Just brush it off, Sora. Play it cool! You got this._

“So...do you want to know about that love line?” Esmeralda asked with a smirk.

And, like a dummy, Sora turned _bright red_ again, recalling how _just gorgeous_ his two friends were. “N-no thanks!” He awkwardly barked, jerking away from her and dashing into the crowds to find Shidou. _Just_ Shidou. Shidou was too much like his sister to have a useless, stupid crush on!

  
  


\-----

  
  


### "Oh man, this place is great!"

While Sora was busy getting his palm read by Esmeralda, Shidou and Ashi had meandered around the tents surrounding the area. Ashi made sure they were in the same area and within sight of the small table they were at, so as Sora wouldn't get lost in the fair crowd.

"I mean, look at it! That dude is sitting there without a shirt, juggling _flaming swords!_ " Shidou pointed at one of the spectacles; but didn't mention the guy in question was sitting on a _unicycle_ while jugging the swords. "That guys got some serious stuff to do that, right?"

Shidou looked up at her icy companion, who, unsurprisingly, wasn't even paying attention. Shidou huffed and rolled her eyes, a little off-put that Ashi didn't seem to be enjoying herself in the very _least_. In the short time she knew Ashi, the stoic warrior kept to herself and was rather _boring,_ honestly. Here she was hoping Ashi would be immersed within all of the craziness going on at the festival, or see _something_ that sparked her interest.

Yet, even here, she was still as enclosed as ever.

"Yo, Ashi, are you listening?" Shidou prodded Ashi in the arm, causing the taller woman to blink and look down at her.

"...Sorry, what?" Ashi asked, raising one of her slender eyebrows up.

Shidou sighed and scratched her head. "Look, could you just re- _lax_ for two seconds, Ashi?" She offered, up gesturing at the crowd surrounding them. "I mean, come on! There's no Heartless, no bad guys, and everyone is having a great time! Can't you find _something_ you like?"

Ashi furrowed her brows and pursed her lips before talking. "Shidou, the crowd is muddling my senses. If the Heartless were to attack--"

"But they're _not!_ " Shidou threw her arms up in frustration. "I mean, this place is a _prime target_ for them! There's gotta be some corrupt people lurking around here, not to mention hearts galore! And do _you_ see any? Nope!" At this point, Shidou took this opportunity to jab Ashi in the chest with her finger. " _The Master’s_ know you need to pull that stick out of your bum and _enjoy_ yourself for once!"

Ashi glared down at her. "We can reach this world, meaning it's is _connected_." She explained in a low voice, though it was loud enough for Shidou to hear over the crowd. "And when worlds are connected, the Heartless can get in."

Shidou sighed and shook her head. "Man, I should've known dragging you into this festival wouldn't work! You don't know how to have fun, sheesh!"

"This isn't about--"

"It's _exactly_ about that!" Shidou retorted, poking Ashi in the chest again, but this time the taller girl batted her hand away. "You need to relax and unwind! Stop worrying about the Heartless for, like, _two seconds_ and act like a normal human for once!" She crossed her arms. “Or maybe, like, _go on a date!_ ” She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb towards Sora. “Kid’s _nuts_ for you! Unwind a bit! Humor him, for the love of Pete!”

“Shidou, this isn’t the time for--”

“When _would_ it be?!” Shidou huffed and stamped her foot, “Yeah we’re trying to do something _big_ and _important_ out here! But _come on!_ ” She pointed at Ashi again. “I’ve done a lot of work in my time, savin’ folks, but I _still_ found time to unwind, to have fun, to _date_ ‘n all that jazz! You can too!”

Ashi rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "We're fighting against the Heartless, Shidou. If we're here, that means they're--"

" _Jiminy Cricket_!!" Shidou threw her hands up in exasperation, "Man, you're _impossible!_ " At this, she huffed and crossed her arms, turning away from Ashi. Ashi merely rolled her eyes in response, returning to scanning the crowd for any signs of suspicious activity.

Shidou's flustered state at Ashi quickly faded when she noticed Sora heading towards them. Awkwardly. Like some kind of robot. Uncrossing her arms, she grinned and raised one hand up, waving towards him. The boy nodded and hurried over to them, weaving between the members of the crowds. However, as he got closer, Shidou noticed his cheeks were rather flushed, and she was pretty sure it wasn't from the heat. He was also trying _way too hard_ not to look at Ashi.

A devious grin formed on her face once he reached them. Crossing her arms again, she leaned down towards the smaller boy. "Soooo, how'd it go?" She asked in her leering voice, nudging Sora in the side with one of her elbows.

Sora's eyes flitted up towards Ashi briefly, before turning red again and trying hard to stare at Shidou or the sky.

That alone told Shidou aaaallllll she needed to know.

"FINE! Totally, absolutely, wonderfully _FINE!_ " Sora was all bravado, indicating it was _totally fine_.

Shidou's devious grin turned into a full on smirk, reaching a hand up to stroke her chin thoughtfully. She looked down at him with half-lidded eyes. "Oh-ho...I _see_." She chuckled, leaning down a bit closer towards him. "You and _her_ , huh...?"

"WHA?!" Sora gasped and leaped practically two feet in the air, nearly crashing into a near-by tent in the process. The blush on his face intensified greatly, looking up at Shidou with a somewhat panicked, yet exasperated expression on his face. "N-No!!" He protested in a squeaky voice, but Shidou kept her calm and the same leering look on her face. Coughing, Sora looked off to the side and scratched the back of his head. "ABSOLTUELY NOT."

"Uh-huh." Shidou responded in a flat tone. "And I'm the Empress of all Worlds."

"I-It's nothing!" Sora urged, looking back up at her and glaring. "Mind your own beeswax, would you?!"

"Sure, whatever, kiddo." Shidou chuckled, uncrossing her arms.

"There wasn't anything to say!" Sora continued. "Nothing about her or Riku, NOPE!"

Well, _that_ was a new one! Riku, too? “Oh, I see, I _see_. Two in one go, huh? So brazen!” She prodded him in the chest.

"Q-Quit it, Shidou!" Sora huffed, jerking away from her prodding hand.

"Oh, come on! It's just too easy to--"

"Is everything alright, Sora?"

Both Sora and Shidou looked over at Ashi when she said this, approaching the other two rambunctious members of her party. Sora turned bright red again and quickly averted his gaze down and away from her. Ashi approached him and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder, which only caused him to turn even _more_ red, if that was possible.

"Sora?" Ashi asked again, her voice a bit softer.

"WHAT? Fine, fine!!" Sora shouted frantically, jerking to look up at her with an awkward grin on his face, though the flush was as deep as ever.

Ashi blinked, and gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure? You're awfully red in the face...we might need to get you something to drink just to be safe." She gave his shoulder a light squeeze. Shidou tried not to laugh. Was Ashi _really_ that stupid about love?!

"N-no, really, I'm fine!" Sora laughed awkwardly, waving his hands back and forth in front of him.

Shidou grinned and leaned back slightly, recognizing the signs of a full-blown crush from 100 yards away. She _really_ needed to work harder to set them up! And inquiring about this Riku situation, too. Maybe once they crossed paths with him again.

"Awww, relax, 'Shi! I'm just teasing the kid here," Shidou informed, pointing towards Sora with her thumb. "It's _so_ easy to do!" To this, Sora pursed his lips together and nodded his head up and down nervously. Ashi gave Shidou a _very_ pointed side-eye, but it didn’t phase her.

"Alright...if you say so." Ashi released Sora's shoulder, and he instantly relaxed as soon as her hand was gone. Shidou inwardly snickered at this, though his blush didn't go away quite yet.

"A-anyway!" Sora abruptly changed the subject, "Esmeralda said she's ready for you guys."

Shidou blinked, "Oh right! I almost forgot..." She looked up at Ashi, “So, which one of us goes next?”

“Go ahead,” Ashi offered, “I'm still a little uneasy, so it will give me a moment to calm down.” She forced an awkward smile.

“Alrighty, then!” Shidou turned on her heel and started towards the small table where Esmeralda was. "I'll be right back!" Turning over her shoulder, she shot Sora another leering look. "You two play _nice_ now, you hear?" She kept her gaze on him long enough to see him turn a deep shade of red again, before chuckling and weaving through the crowds.

It only took her a few moments to reach the dark-skinned woman, who was still seated at the table. Esmeralda smiled when she saw Shidou, rising up and gesturing for the short girl to take a seat across from her.

Shidou sat down and grinned, laying her arm on the table. "Hey, just fair warning - you _might_ not want to read my life line."

"Oh? And why's that?" Esmeralda chuckled, sitting down as well and taking Shidou's wrist delicately in her hand.

Shidou smirked, "Let's just say I'm a whole lot older then I _look_."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Esmeralda said with a small smirk, turning her attention down towards the palm outstretched before her. "Hmm..." Her eyes traced the lines along Shidou's hand, though briefly her eyebrows raised when she looked at one of them. Shidou figured that the woman had found her life-line, though Esmeralda said nothing about it. Those dark, thick eyebrows lowered as she continued to study, a slender finger coming out to trace the paths along the girl's palm.

"I see a life of duty," Esmeralda informed in a calm, almost mystical voice, her eyes hazy and glazed over, "It wasn't the life you choose, but...one that happened to you, whether you desired it or not. However, you'd never turn your back on it, as it's changed you."

"Wow, that's pretty good!" Shidou chirped, but quickly went silent when Esmeralda briefly looked up at her not to interrupt. "Whoops, sorry." She muttered, coughing and relaxing into her seat a bit.

"It might've changed you for better, or for worse," Esmeralda's soft voice continued, still tracing the contours of Shidou's palm. "You've found purpose in your life, forged friendships...but the most difficult part of your life is a result of this duty. A duty you _swore_ to do, because of all of the loss you’ve suffered. So much pain, loss, death and suffering you’ve seen..." As she said this, Shidou instantly tensed up again, her grin dropping and her eyes looking down at her palm. "You've suffered so, so much. I’m so sorry-- everyone you’ve lost, all you’ve seen – the ones you’ve loved, I--."

Shidou's heart stopped beating for a brief moment.

She looked up and over towards the dark-haired woman before her, her breathing intensifying and her bright eyes going wide. Suddenly, the pain of a thousand daggers drove themselves into her chest, driving the breath from her chest and making her suddenly feel very weak. It felt like the weight of the world was dumped upon her shoulders, and her hand even began to tremble within Esmeralda's gentle, yet firm grip.

_No...n-no way...she couldn't--_

Esmeralda, sensing the immediate distress within Shidou, gave the girl's wrist a reassuring squeeze before continuing. "I can tell that this grief still haunts you to this day, Shidou, even _without_ reading your palm." She offered in a soft voice, "But looking at it, these events _changed_ you, made you older; and that you blame yourself for them." Reaching her other hand out, she clasped it over Shidou's palm, holding it gently. By now, she had lifted her gaze up to meet Shidou's shocked, unnerved one.

"You mustn't blame yourself for this." Esmeralda said in a strong, true voice; her eyes held strength and conviction that Shidou's lacked. "What happened wasn't your fault. The past makes us who we are, but it shouldn't make us ill thinking of it. You must move on, and try to--"

"What do you know?"

Esmeralda was taken aback from the sudden, dark words from Shidou, who had lowered her gaze down to the table. Her jaw was taught and her teeth clenched. Shidou jerked her hand away from the woman's, rising up and meeting the shocked gaze of her companion.

"You weren't there!" Shidou snapped, glaring down at Esmeralda. "You don't know what I had to go through! I _failed_ , so many times!! Over and over and _over_ and-- a-an-and it's because of _me_ that-- that everything is-- tha-that they're--" She chocked on the last part, squeezing her eyes closed and trying not to let loose a cry. Gritting her teeth together, she clenched her hands into tight fists. "You can't _possibly_ know what it was like." She hissed between her teeth. Turning on her heel, Shidou began to make her way towards the others.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you!" Esmeralda called out, but her words fell on deaf ears.

That's when all hell broke loose.

A woman's scream cut through the crowd and with it, mass hysteria. People suddenly started running left and right, and Shidou was torn from her dark and damaging thoughts, looking around for a source. "What now?!" She quickly turned back to Esmeralda, who was looking around for the source too. "Are you okay?"

"Fine! Do you know what's--"

"Heartless!"

Ashi busted onto the scene, Naginata in her hand. "I just sensed a massive flux of dark energy! I think they're attacking the crowd!"

"Oh for the love of--" Shidou grumbled, running her hands through her hair. "Okay! We should find the source before they kill any of the civilians here!" Turning around, she looked at the confused Esmeralda, "Get out of here! We'll handle this!"

"Got it!" Esmeralda dashed off into the mayhem without a second word, vanishing into the sea of bodies.

Reaching for her yo-yo's, Shidou turned towards Ashi, pushing her thoughts from her hand and donning her usual playful smirk. "I take it this is the part where you tell me 'I told you so,' right?"

Ashi looked down at Shidou and, with a smirk of her own, replied in a straight tone.

"I told you so."

  
  


\----

  
  


"What _are_ those things?"

The man in the bell tower of Notre Dame stood on the balcony, looking down at the chaos in the square below. Strange, shadow-like creatures had sprung up quite suddenly during the festival, attacking the citizens below. He squinted his eyes against he glare of the sun, trying to get a better look at what was going on.

"Demons, perhaps?" One of his gargoyle statue friends commented, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure..." The man responded, looking down at the oddly muscular statue with a perplexed expression. "They certainly don't _look_ like the demons Master tells me about..."

"Well, whatever they are, you should be down there!" Another one of the statues suggested, this time being an elderly women. "You _know_ the city guards are helpless without ya, Quasi!"

The man sighed and pursed his lips together. "Y-You know I can't. I'm not allowed to leave, remember?" He exclaimed with exasperation, hanging his head down.

The female statue crossed her arms. "What if Esmeralda got hurt by those things?"

The man gasped and looked down at her, his eyes going wide. "N-no, I--"

"Hey, they might not need him after all!" A third statue chimed in, this time being a portly one. "Lookit! There's some people fighting them - not guards!"

The man and the other statues peered down, seeing three individuals leaping into the fray and expertly fighting the strange shadow creatures; as if they had been doing it their whole lives. It looked like two _women_ were fighting - one taller and older then the other - and then a boy who was even younger, fighting just as good as the other two. The older women was ordering the guards to usher the civilians out of the way, and they were driving the force of the monsters back quite well, giving time for the frightened civilians to flee and for the guards to help the injured up.

"Huh. Well, wouldya look at that..." The female gargoyle mused, blinking her eyes.

"Strange, I don't recognize them." The man noted, squinting his eyes to try and get a better look at them. "I don't think they're from Paris..."

"Sure you do, Quasi!" The portly gargoyle chirped, giving the man a hardly slap on the calf. "They were the ones talking to Esmeralda earlier, remember?"

Looking back down at the trio, the man gave a nod of his head. "Oh yeah...I remember them now."

"It appears as if they're on our side, at least." The muscular one said with a small nod of his head. "I wonder who they are, though..."

"Looks like they've got everything covered!" The elderly gargoyle grinned, jabbing her thumb down towards the trio, who had wiped out the last of the monsters from the courtyard. "The way they fought, it's like they _know_ what those weird bug-things were. I wonder if they're hunters or something!"

The man gave a small nod of his head. "I just hope the guards can track them down and see if they know what's going on." With that, he turned on his heel and headed back inside the bell towers.

"Hey, where are you off to?" The portly statue asked, hopping after the man.

The man turned back towards him and gave a small grin. "Everyone in the city has wooden figures of themselves...and it looks like I need to make three more!"

  
  


\---

  
  


With the last of the Heartless gone, it gave the trio time to catch their breath and take stock over the damages. Sora noticed that Ashi had rested her Naginata against her shoulder, and with that cue he scurried over towards one of the fallen people.

"How bad is it?" He heard Shidou speak, Sora looking the person over and noting that there wasn't a pulse, but the man was still breathing and his eyes were open, though glazed over. Sora furrowed his brows, giving the man a small poke in the side and seeing him twitch, signifying that he was alive...even though there was no heart beat.

"I...I think his heart was stolen," Sora informed solemnly, hearing the foot falls of Shidou come up behind him. The girl knelt down and waved her hand in front of the man's face, getting a fluttering of eyelids, but no response from the eyes or the pupils.

"Horsefeathers!" Shidou hissed, clenching her fist and hitting it onto the cobblestone path.

Sora looked back down at the man with pity in his eyes; he had never seen someone who had lost their heart before. The reality of the situation hit him hard, how desperately he was needed to ensure this kind of thing didn't happen. To still be alive like this...but with no heart, there was no soul, no spirit; no person or reason to actually be alive. There was nothing in this man, and it would only be a matter of time before he'd become a Heartless, too.

Looking up at Shidou pitifully, Sora gestured towards the man. "T-there has to be _something_ we can do!"

Shidou sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes. "There isn't."

"What?! How can you say that?" Sora exclaimed, glaring up at her.

"Sora, we've killed all of the Heartless here!" Shidou exclaimed, "You know when they're defeated, the hearts they stole disappear! We have no control over where they go and we don't know where they end up. Even _if_ we _did_ know, you'd need to be bloody psychic to know which heart is his! I'm sorry, but there isn't anything we can do."

"That's not true! There has to be--"

"Sora."

Sora stopped in mid sentence, looking up to see Ashi standing over him. Her eyes weren't their usual icy quality; instead, they were softer, a look that she showed more and more these days.

"I know this is hard for you, but until we can find a way to restore hearts to their owners, there isn't anything we can do for him." She informed, her tone not quite as soft as her eyes were. Sora looked up into her pale eyes and pursed his lips together, heaving a defeated sigh and nodding his head, slowly staggering up to his feet. Once he was up, Ashi gave a small nod of her head. "From what I can tell, only six people in the crowd lost their hearts."

"W-wow, that's pretty incredible," Shidou blinked her eyes, rising to her feet as well, "Considering how condensed the crowd was, I'd expect there would've been more!"

"I thought so, too...and there were no casualties that I saw, just injuries." Ashi informed.

"Do you sense any more Heartless, now that the crowd's gone?" Shidou asked, looking about the now surprisingly empty courtyard.

"No, I don't sense any more--" Ashi stopped in mid sentence and abruptly looked over her shoulder. A unit of guards mounted on horses was approaching the group, and at the head of it was an older man adorned in all black. Riding beside him was a younger man in golden armor, who had to be the leader of the guards. Sora noted that Ashi narrowed her eyes and her body tensed up, signifying that something _wasn't quite right._ Sora raised his own guard in response, just in case.

The man in the golden armor came to a halt before the trio, signaling the other guardsmen to stop as well. "Greetings. I'm Guard-Captain Phoebus, head of security here in Paris." He gestured towards the imposing older man in black beside him, "And this is the judge, Claude Frollo, who is _my_ boss." The captain said this with a sly grin, as if it was some kind of joke; Frollo didn't make any response to it.

"What can we do for you, Captain?" Shidou inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, we couldn't help but to _notice_ you have some familiarity with those weird creatures that appeared at the festival," Phoebus continued, "You certainly surprised us with how well you fought them off! I can't say I've ever seen a woman - let alone _two_ \- fight so good."

"Let's just say we're experts!" Shidou chirped, giving a grin up at the guard-captain.

"Those things are called Heartless," Sora offered up, finding himself relaxing a bit. Although Phoebus was mostly business, there was some light-hearted tones his voice, which made Sora feel less ill at ease about the situation. "We've been chasing them down all over the place, so yeah...I guess we _are_ experts." He looked over at Shidou and grinned, the taller girl returning his grin.

"I see...what can you tell us about these 'Heartless?'" Phoebus inquired.

"Well, uh..." Sora scratched his head, trying to figure out how to word it delicately without revealing that they were from other worlds. "We really don't know where they come from, but they don't have hearts of their own...so they steal those that do have them." He looked back at the catatonic man laying behind them, furrowing his brows together. "When they do, it makes...that. He's not really dead, just...missing what makes him who he is, I guess."

Phoebus looked down at the catatonic man, his eyes narrowing and his brows furrowed. "That is...rather unfortunate. Is there anything we can do for him, and the others?" He asked, looking back over towards the group.

"We haven't found a way to help them yet," Shidou sighed, scratching the back of her head.

"Until we find a way, there isn't anything we can do." Ashi noted sternly, looking up at Phoebus, "Unfortunately, with his heart gone, he and the other victims of the attack will, eventually, turn into Heartless themselves. Unless we can find a way to restore their hearts...it is best we dispose of them before they spring back to life and attack."

Phoebus looked disheartened at this; though the still-silent Frollo remained stone faced. "I...see." Phoebus turned back to the guards behind him, "Men! Collect the victims of the attack. We will end what little life they had, and contact their families." The guards nodded and scurried about the courtyard, Phoebus turning back towards them. "Thank you for your assistance. Now, may I have your names?"

Sora looked back towards the man as the guards lifted him up, looking at the lip, comatose form with pity. Slowly, he turned back towards the Guard-Captain and Judge before him. "Oh...sorry. I'm Sora, and this is Ashi and Shidou."

"Foreigners?" It was the first word from Frollo's mouth, coming out in a low hiss.

"Err, yeah?" Sora muttered nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I-is that a bad thing...?"

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Phoebus stated pointedly, looking at Frollo out of the corner of his eyes. "But yes, your names _are_ a little odd."

"Well, we came from a _long_ way away, chasin' down the Heartless!" Shidou chirped. Phoebus gave another pointed look at Frollo, as if to say it wasn't anything to be worried about, but the elderly man didn't seem to notice...or care.

Giving a small sigh, Frollo looked down at the group again, "Very well. If you are here for those... _demons..._ then I will permit you free reign of the city." He narrowed his eyes slightly, his stony gaze lingering over Ashi briefly.

"Do you have any idea where they come from?" Phoebus asked.

"Probably from the _gypsies._ " Frollo cut off the trio before any of them could respond, his voice coming out in a cold, curt tone.

Phoebus jerked his head over towards Frollo with a serious expression. "Sir, there isn't any evidence that points towards them."

Frollo turned towards his Guard-Captain and sneered. "This is _their_ festival, run by _them!_ And do you see any of them being victims of this attack, hmm? They are all heathens and witches, so it would, without a doubt, _be their cause_."

"Sir, I don't--"

"They have no origin." Ashi snapped, cutting off the minor squabble between the two men, causing them to look down at her. "We have no idea where they come from, only that we _have_ to stop them. We will do whatever it takes to get them out of your city, but they’re not caused by a singular person, nor a people as a whole." As she spoke, Frollo narrowed his eyes down at her. "You just need to trust us."

While this was going on, Sora leaned over towards Shidou and whispered, "What's a 'gypsy?'"

Shidou turned down towards him and laughed awkwardly, "Well, _technically_ the proper term is either Romani or Roma..."

Sora blinked, "Err, what're those?"

"Not much wanderlust where you come from, eh?" Shidou smirked, but it only caused Sora to stare up at her in confusion. "Err, well, I guess the best way to describe them is a race of people, who are wanderers and nomads who don't really belong anywhere. A lot of people don't like them..."

"I think I get it..."

Sora returned his attention to the conversation between Ashi and Frollo, which merely ended with Frollo snorting and turning his horse around.

"Captain, assist these... _foreigners_ with their inquiry with the Heartless." He ordered over his shoulder, causing Phoebus to roll his eyes dramatically.

"Of course, sir." Phoebus said, his voice less sarcastic then his face was. Sighing, he heaved off of his horse and popped his neck.

Once Frollo was out of ear-shot, Shidou cracked a smirk at Phoebus, "Does he _always_ act like he's got a hot poker up his posterior, or is it just us?"

"Oh believe me, sometimes I wish I had taken that post in England instead of here...and they're _still_ fighting over royal succession!" Phoebus commented with a laugh and another roll of his eyes, "Something about roses..." He shook his head at this, "But, I digress! Any ideas on what we should be looking for?"

Both Sora and Shidou looked towards Ashi, whose posture was still relaxed, her Naginata gently rested against her shoulder. Phoebus quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Err, something I'm missing here?"

Shidou looked back over at him and shrugged. "Oh, well, Ashi here can _sense_ the Heartless," She explained to the armor-clad man, "The fact that she's relaxed now means they aren't near-by."

"Well, that'll come in handy!" Phoebus noted, obviously not batting an eye at that unique ability. "Just, err, don't go saying it to _everyone_. A lot of people here would not be all that pleased with it." He looked over his shoulder, towards the direction Frollo road off on. " _Including_ Mr. Doom-and-Gloom himself."

"Got it." Sora noted with a nod of his head, looking back up towards Ashi. "Any leads?"

She stood, her face in it's usual stoic expression. Her posture was more relaxed now since Frollo had ridden off; and the stance was very open, meaning there wasn't an immediate threat. However, by now, Sora knew more of Ashi's subtle nuances, seeing her eyes scanning the courtyard and the side-streets, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Anyone not knowing her would assume she wasn't paying attention, but Sora knew she was searching.

After a moment, Ashi looked down at him. "I can't sense them straight away. Either they are too far away, or have just arrived and have not yet come in force."

"Well, then...that should leave time for the guard to tighten security," Shidou noted. "But...any ideas where we can start looking?" She looked over towards Phoebus after saying this.

Phoebus looked up from the trio and towards the massive cathedral before them, just as the bells began to toll. A grin formed across his face as he brushed past the trio and headed towards the large steps that lead towards the cathedral.

"The church, eh? Odd place to find Heartless..." Shidou chuckled, the trio following after him.

"Well, I don't know if they'll be in there..." Phoebus paused in his stride, looking over his shoulder down at them. "...But I know someone who can help us." With that, he turned back around and continued forward, climbing the stone steps.

"Who is it?" Sora asked, hurrying to keep up with Phoebus' long stride.

  
  


"Someone who knows Paris better then anyone."

 


	12. Court's Eclipse

Court’s Eclipse

"I'm telling you, we're going the wrong direction!"

"And I'm telling _you_ that you're an idiot and have no _idea_ where this 'map' leads us!"

The group had been following around a pair of bickering men for the better part of an hour. After meeting up with Phoebus' friend in the bell-tower - a deformed man named Quasimodo - they enlisted his help, come night fall, to try and find the Heartless' nest and stop the attacks. So far, they had no leads. Ashi couldn't pin-point where their origin was, so they decided to ask these "gypsies" for help, as they apparently knew the underbelly of Paris a bit better.

Finding them, however, was proving more difficult then first assumed.

"This is the city! Right here!" Quasimodo flailed a woven dream-catcher like object before the Guard-Captain, who store at it unimpressed. "I've been watching this city for all of my life and I think I'd _know_ it by now!"

"This is just a dumb trinket!" Phoebus said with a huff, pointing at the woven thing. "It's _not_ a map!"

Quasimodo matched Phoebus' glare, "Esmeralda gave this to me, telling me the city is in my hand! It has--"

"It's just some gibberish! There's no way you have the city in your hand!"

"Why would she lie about this? This will lead us to the Court of Miracles, I promise!"

"And I say--"

"Would you guys just pick out curtains already?!" Shidou shouted, causing the two bickering men to stop and look over at her, raising quizzical eyebrows at her colorful statement. Ashi gave a snort at this comment, restraining her amusement at the comment.

Sora was confused by this terminology, leaning over towards the taller women. "Err, what does that mean?" He asked.

Ashi sighed, "It means they're arguing like an old married couple." She explained, low enough so that the arguing pair didn't overhear her.

"But, they're--oh...I get it now..." Sora felt himself turn red when he realized what Shidou was suggesting.

"If you two want to keep bickering like children, be my guest!" Shidou added sarcastically, making a dramatic sweeping gesture with her arm. "But the _grown ups_ have a city to save!"

Both Phoebus and Quasimodo looked at each other skeptically, then with varying degrees of disgust, turning their noses away from each other. "Well, he started it!" They both sulked in unison. Shidou rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Well, since you're both acting like spoiled little kids..." With this, Shidou marched over and snatched the woven band from the bell ringer, holding it up above her head. "Let the adults take it from here!" She tossed it over at Ashi before he could flail after it.

"B-but you're younger then us!" He protested, "And Esmeralda gave that to me! Give it back!" However, he was totally ignored by the visiting trio, crossing his arms and blowing his bangs from his eyes.

"Whaddya think?" Shidou asked the taller girl, tilting her head up towards Ashi. Ashi examined the charm thoughtfully, stroking her chin.

"Well...first of all," Ashi flipped it over, "We were looking at it upside down." Shidou laughed awkwardly, followed by an embarrassed laugh from Quasimodo.

"I-I knew that!" He was about as good of a liar as Sora was, turning red in the face and stumbling over his words. Phoebus rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did, buddy." He grumbled. The guard-captain and bell ringer wandered over to the group, looking over Ashi's shoulders while she studied the map.

"I think Quasimodo is right, though, this is definitely a map of the city." She pointed to the large cross in the center of it, "See, this looks like the cathedral, yes? And the two blue lines have to be the river we've crossed over several times, surrounding it." Quasimodo nodded his head enthusiastically, agreeing on the matter.

"...Still looks like a bunch of hog wash to me..." Phoebus mumbled angrily, crossing his arms. "Do we really want to follow this shoddy 'map?'" He quickly shut up when Ashi slowly turned her head back towards him, giving him a cold glare with her pale eyes. Grunting, he made a few overly dramatic gestures with his hands, trying to explain himself, but no words came. Especially with both Ashi and Quasimodo glaring up at him. Sora blinked his eyes, watching Phoebus give up and wave his hands, crossing his arms and giving a huff of frustration. Obviously, he didn't like being proved wrong.

With him silenced, Ashi continued, "This mark here must be where our destination is," She pointed to another cross, though it was less predominate then the one for the cathedral. Of course, as a former Warlord, Ashi was very good at reading maps.

"Any ideas, Quasi?" Sora asked, Ashi returning the trinket back to the hunchback.

After studying the map for a few seconds, he looked up and nodded. "Yeah, it's the old cemetery," Quasimodo confirmed, casting a smug glance over at Phoebus. Who was still sulking, mind you.

"Lead the way!" Shidou chirped with a flourish of her hand. Quasimodo nodded.

"Come on, it's this way!" He gestured for them to follow, taking off into the dark, twisting streets of the city.

 

\----

 

Surprisingly, the group didn't encounter any Heartless during their trip to the cemetery. Even more surprising was the fact that there weren't any of the buggers inside the graveyard, either. It seemed like the prime spot for them to pop up! But whenever Sora looked to Ashi for any clues in her body language of their presence, she wasn't tense nor guarded. Wary, but not prepared for battle.

Odd, she seemed more distant and distracted then usual, though.

While the others were trying to figure out where the entrance to the Court of Miracles was, Sora wandered over to where Ashi stood. Her eyes, usually so cold and focused, store off into the distance and away from the graveyard, up into the night sky. The moon was peeking out from behind the clouds, bathing the cemetery in an eerie light and making her seem more pale then she usually was, and she looked almost ethereal. Upon reaching her, Sora felt himself flush when he noticed this, trying to wipe this notion from his mind, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Ashi?"

She blinked and looked down at him. "Yes, what is it?" Her voice was as distant as her eyes. Ashi was facing and looking down at him, but for a moment she was looking through him. Sora furrowed his brows in concern.

"Is...everything alright...?" He asked nervously, removing his hand from her.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Ashi's tone was softer now, her eyes regaining their focus. Sora blinked and scratched his head awkwardly, looking down away from her.

"I-I was just, um...wondering..." He mumbled, looking back up at her sheepishly. "Y-you just seem a bit...troubled, I guess?"

Ashi sighed and looked away from him again, regaining that distant expression. "I have a sense of foreboding..." Her voice faded, turning into a whisper in the wind. A chill ran down Sora's spine, and a feeling of unease began to fill his stomach. Ashi's brows knitted together, her eyes focusing once again, giving a sigh and looking back down at him. "My senses are all out of whack. I know there are Heartless, but I can't pin point them. When we were in that whale, it made sense with all of the internal organs, or earlier with all of the people, but now..." She shook her head lightly. "...Plus, the city...even at night, a city this size wouldn't be so still, so silent. It's like a shinigami – a god of death- has walked through the streets." Sighing again, she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "I...might be imagining things or leaping to conclusions...but I've felt nothing but disquiet since we arrived. Like a coming of a storm, or an army ready to charge from a hill."

Sora pursed his lips and attempted to swallow the knot that appeared in his throat. Ashi had the best instinct of the three of them, always able to sense the slightest disturbance. When they were in Cephiro, she alone sensed the dangers of Emeraude. So if she felt something was wrong, something most certainly was.

"Well, I trust you, Ashi." Sora said, forcing a reassuring smile, but she didn't seem to take it to heart, looking back over to the horizon. Sora coughed and scratched the back of his head nervously, not really sure what else to say. Slowly, he reached one of his hands out and touched the back of her palm with his fingers. The back of her palm was soft. He felt his cheeks turn rosy, but he wanted to reassure her, somehow. To his surprise, her hand turned and grabbed his; her fingers calloused from gripping her Naginata. It didn’t bother him, but the way she clutched to his hand - it was almost desperate. For comfort, for...something. To hold on to? Sora couldn’t help to smile that he was able to bring something to her. He squeezed her hand.

“I’m here for you, Ashi.” He said quietly, stealing a look at her through his bangs. She wasn’t looking at him, but returned the squeeze.

“I know.” Her voice was quiet, a whisper on the wind. “Thank you.”

"Hey!" Came Shidou's chirp, startling Sora. He whirled around to face her with a slightly flushed faced from the shock, Shidou gaining a mischievous look to her face. "I'm not... _interrupting_ anything, am I?" She teased, nudging Sora in the sides, causing him to turn even more red. He quickly released Ashi’s hand.

"N-no!" He squawked.

Shidou leered at him, "Uh-huh..."

"We were just talking," Ashi informed, looking over at Shidou, who cocked a smirk. "Did you guys find the entrance?" She asked before Shidou could make some sassy comment.

"Oh yeah!" The spunky girl grinned, "Turns out there is a crypt with that symbol on it! We found a secret passage that leads underground!"

Suddenly, Sora wasn't so keen about this. Going knee-deep in dead people didn't sound like a pleasant experience. Far less pleasant then being stuck in the digestive track of a giant whale...ugh, how did they keep finding themselves in these situations? Still, they needed the help, and Esmerelda's people seemed to know more about the inner workings of the city. Gulping, he followed after Shidou, over to where the two men were waiting with torches.

Quasimodo gestured with his large hand to follow. "This way!" He lead them into the run-down crypt - Sora trying not to look at the decrepit thing so he wouldn't catch a glimpse of a cadaver - Phoebus following after the group as their rear guard.

Several plaques and effigies rested within the silent crypt, as well as coffins lining the wall. There was an unpleasant odor coming from...well, everything, and Sora really wished that the next world they ended up in didn't involve dead things or half-consumed whale food...which probably also consisted of dead things. Wonderful.

The hunchback lead the group towards one of the effigies in the back, revealing a wall plaque that had been taken off. Above it rested the same symbol on the map and the crypt itself, and it revealed a doorway and a passage that lead downwards. It was small and dark, and smelled of wet rock - signifying there was water somewhere down there. Quasimodo squeezed through the doorway and the group followed after, Phoebus careful to place the plaque back up over the passage.

Sora wrinkled his nose. Not only did it smell of wet rock and mold, but of rotting wood and some other scent he really didn't want to think about. He tried to bite down the urge to gag, following after Quasimodo into the dank tunnel. The group continued down the staircase in silence, the stairwell opening up and revealing an even more ruined crypt under the first one.

The walls were lined with indentations in their surfaces, and resting in them were various coffins. Most of the wooden ones were rotted away or falling apart, though there were a few stone and metal ones here-and-there. Human remains were resting in several of the crevasses, or just scattered along the stairwell. Sora tried to keep his eyes up and forward, but it was difficult due to his own curiosity.

Once they reached the base of the stairs, it was revealed that the stairwell must connect to the sewers, probably explaining that increasingly bad stench that flooded the senses. Shallow water lapped against the stairs, and Sora heard Ashi give a whimper, turning back to her and seeing her frozen on the stairs.

"Afraid you'll get your dress dirty in the sewage?" Phoebus snarked, walking down to join Quasimodo and Shidou in the filthy water. Sora glared over at him.

"No, she can't swim!" He snapped.

"I can't swim, either," Phoebus added, un-strapping his sword and slinging it over his shoulder so it wouldn't get wet. "But it barely reaches to my knees! No fear there, right?" He gestured down, Ashi still frozen in place on the stairs. "Nothing to be afraid of." She shook her head nervously. Sora shot Phoebus another glare, turning over to his friend.

"I know you're afraid, Ashi, but we need to keep pressing forward!" He encouraged, "It's not that deep, and I'll be with you every step of the way, alright?" Smiling up at her, he puffed his chest out, "I'll protect you!" He gestured to himself with his thumb, grinning with encouragement.

Ashi swallowed hard, "B-but wha-what if I...I-I sl-slip...?" She managed to feebly ask.

"I'll just be there to catch you!" Sora chirped up at her, "You always say we need to keep the mission our focus, right? Why don't you think about that instead of the water?" Ashi looked down at him, pursing her lips together. After a moment of deliberation, she nodded her head slowly.

"I-I'll t-tr-try..." She mumbled. Sora smiled up at her, taking her shaking hand and leading her down the steps. Ashi reached down and hiked her skirts up, as Shidou had done, looping them over her free arm. She practically clung to Sora's hand, and she hadn't even entered the water yet.

"Alright, just one step at a time!" He proceeded down with her slowly. Ashi store up at the ceiling, her lips pursed together and trying to ignore the fact that water was just down below. When they made it into the sewage, she flinched and gave a startled squeak - Sora tried not to laugh at this uncharacteristic noise - and she clung tighter to his hand. But she kept going, muttering about ignoring the water to herself. She was already shaking like a leaf in a hurricane! Poor dear.

Sora grinned down at her, "See, you're doing it!" Ashi didn't respond, her eyes squeezed closed now. They made it to where the others waited, Phoebus looking a bit uncomfortable due to the fact he was still in full armor and knee-deep in sewer water. Quasimodo gave an encouraging nod to them, leading the way once more.

They walked through the water in silence, save Ashi's occasional murmurs or squeaks. Sora felt bad for forcing her to do this, but they needed her there. Well, _he_ needed her there, at least. He was pretty sure she was starting to cut the circulation off in his hand, but he wouldn't let go until they made it out of the water and she calmed down. Not that he could, anyway, with how tightly she clung to him.

After a few minutes of walking, Quasimodo narrowed his eyes. "It's a little quiet," The bell ringer noted, looking about the dank tunnel, "I would have thought we'd run into some Gypsies by now..."

"Romani," Shidou corrected with a grin, Quasimodo laughing nervously. "Yeah, they're probably trying to keep quiet so no one knows they're here, right?" She suggested.

"Maybe we took a wrong turn." Phoebus sighed, scratching his head. No sooner did he say this that both his and Quasimodo's torches went out. "...Or walked into an ambush." The guard-captain said dryly.

Sora quickly summoned a fireball in his free hand, just in time to see a slew of men wearing skeleton costumes swarm the group. He gave a startled gasp and tried to summon his Keyblade, but they were too quick, wrenching him away from Ashi. With a startled squawk, he flailed for her, but felt her fingertips slip from his, giving a cry in dismay. Sora's hands were forced behind his back and bound.

"Ash--" He called out to her, but was quickly gagged. He could hear the cries and struggles of his other friends as they were bound and gagged too, the muffled protests of his friends echoing across the passage. Sora strained to hear over them, trying to hear Ashi's voice, terrified that she'd pass out without him there and drown. He flailed angrily in the grasp of his jailers, but the ropes on his hands only tightened in response.

One of them shoved him forward, "Quit yer squirmin'!" The guard said in a gruff voice, "Lest I knock ya a good one!"

By now, Sora's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, seeing the dark outlines of figures escorting the distinct shapes of his friends. Quasimodo stood out with his hunched back and large arms, and Phoebus towered over everyone and clanked in his armor. He also noticed the silhouette of a girl, being Shidou, as well as several men escorting the group. Quieting down, he tried to see Ashi, looking forward.

A tall man walked at the front of the group with something slung over his shoulder. Ashi! Sora breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she had been picked up. He tried calling out her name, but it just came out as a garbled mess due to the gag he wore, the guard behind him shoving him roughly again. She must have fainted in the commotion! At least she was alright. Now, how to get them out of this mess.

Light punctured the still darkness, slowly flooding it the closer they approached. The water began to become more and more shallow, before turning into solid ground. The men pulled their hostages forward, stopping before a few other guards, wearing leather armor.

"Trespassers?" One of the leather-bound guards asked.

"Yeah."

"Take 'em to the King." He gestured with his head, Sora wondering what kind of king would willingly live in the sewers. The skeleton-clad men shoved their captives forward, leading them into a large, grand cavern. Fabric and tapestries hung from the ceilings and walls, illuminated by thousands of torches and sconces. Tents, wagons and hovels dotted the premises, as well as what looked like a fully-functional bizarre and a stage for shows or speeches or something. Dark skinned people all stopped and store at the rag-tag group of captives when they walked past.

Sora looked to his friends, who were no worse for ware. Phoebus' sword was being carried by one of the men with them. Quasimodo wasn't struggling, but seemed to be trying to figure out a way out. Looking over to Shidou, she had a surprisingly cheerful expression to her eyes, appearing to be smiling past her gag. Sora raised an eyebrow at her bright outlook, the odd little warrior giving a small nod of her head. Still confused, he looked ahead, seeing the man who had Ashi slung over his shoulder.

Soaked to the bone, she hung limp against him. But, as Sora looked closer, he noticed her hands were twisting about. Rope dangled from them, and the Keyblade wielder's eyes widened. She wasn't unconscious - she was escaping! He was about to gasp but she raised her head and looked at him, making a small gesture with her head to keep him quiet. The rope dropped to the ground and coiled about, none of the guards noticing. Ashi made a gesture with her hands, signifying Sora needed to make his move and distract the guards, her hands wrapping around the hilt of the sword her captor carried.

With that cue, Sora vaulted forward, dragging the guard down with him. While he fell, he changed trajectory and momentum of his fall, rolling forward once he hit the ground, causing the guard holding him to get a face full of dirt.

Reaching his bound hands up, Ashi drew the sword she had and sliced the rope around Sora's hands off, flipping up and startling the guard who held her. She hit him in the face with the pommel of the sword, causing him to grunt and fall backwards. Ashi landed deftly on her feet beside Sora, removing her gag while he rose up to his feet and removed his as well.

By now, the guards were catching on to the escape plan. Shidou elbowed hers in the stomach, causing him to recoil, leaping up and delivering a round house kick to his face. Both Quasimodo and Phoebus knocked theirs aside, Shidou raising her hands for the men to follow suit. Sora summoned his trusty Keyblade and chucked it at them, focusing the arch of it to slice between their hands and cut through the bindings that held them. No sooner did it cut the last coil of rope did the Keyblade return to his hand, the boy striking an offensive pose.

"Damn, when can I hire _those_ guys?" Phoebus commended with wide eyes and a smirk, drawing his sword.

"Now--" Quasimodo grunted, hitting his guard so hard in the face that he rolled backwards and was rendered unconscious, "--Is _not_ a good time!"

"Right, right..." Phoebus mumbled sarcastically, parrying a blow from one of the guards. "Still, you got to admit that was damn impressive!" He laughed, sliding the offending sword away and smacking the guard upside the head with the flat of his blade.

By now, their little scuffle had attracted the attention of the other guards, jumping into the fray. The skirmish didn't last long, however. Suddenly, the guards stopped when a slow clap echoed across the cavern.

" _Brava, Brava_! Nicely done." A high-pitched male voice called out sarcastically. A tall, lanky man rounded the corner, with a large consignment of guards trailing behind him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say we have a right troop of acrobats with us!" The surrounding Romani chuckled at this joke, the lanky man placing his hands on his hips.

Sora glanced at Ashi out of the corners of his eyes. She was tense and guarded, but not like when a battle was going to happen. She was prepared to fight, but wasn't eager to step in. Good, that meant whoever this guy was, he wasn't likely their enemy.

"I must congratulate all of you for making it this far!" The man continued, dramatically sweeping his arms out to his sides. "You've duped my guards quite easily, and forged your way into my Court of Miracles...but, I'm afraid that this is as far as you go. Gentlemen!" He snapped his fingers, the guards rushing forward to flank the group. Sora readied himself, gripping his Keyblade, and wondered how they could defeat so many guards without actually hurting them.

"Wait!"

The guards stopped their assault and parted, revealing the one and only Esmeralda. She now wore simpler, much looser clothing then at the faire, and was marching towards the tall man. He raised a hand, signaling the guards to halt.

"What is it, Esmeralda?" He asked skeptically, raising a brow.

"These people are _not_ our enemies, Clopin!" Esmeralda asserted, glaring up at him and gesturing towards the group.

Clopin scoffed, "Oh really?" He looked over at them. "So Judge Frollo's faithful Captain of the Guard and his loyal, deformed bell ringer aren't our enemies now?" He laughed shortly, "Oh, what jokes you tell!" The other guards chuckled as well.

Esmeralda's glare deepened. "These are good people, Clopin!" She looked back over at them, "Quasimodo saved my life, and Phoebus has been working behind Frollo's slimy back to subvert his attacks on our people!" Both aforementioned men nodded their heads in agreement.

Clopin looked over at them too, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...so, you trust them?" He looked back down at her.

"With my life." Esmeralda responded seriously. The taller man met her gaze, then looked back over at the group. Clopin made another hum of contemplation, lowering his hand from his chin. He gave a small nod of his head towards his shoulder, the guards backing down. Esmeralda breathed out. "Thank you." She shot a pointed look at Phoebus, who sheathed his sword on cue.

"If what you say is true, they're friends to us!" Clopin exclaimed, turning on his heel and walking towards the group. He eyed Sora, Shidou and Ashi skeptically, crossing his arms. "Doesn't explain these three, though."

Sora, realizing the danger was over, relaxed and the Keyblade disappeared from his hand. "Oh! I'm Sora, and this is Ashi and Shidou!" He gestured towards the two women in introduction.

"They're hunting those weird shadow-demons that attacked during the faire," Esmeralda explained. Clopin nodded his head.

"So I see! It would explain their skill, then." He relaxed, Sora noticing Ashi finally dropping her guard. "Come, then! No use standing about! We have a whole court to explore, yes?" Clopin chirped, grinning at the group and gesturing forward. With the danger past, the group followed after him, leading them into the compound.

Esmeralda fell into pace beside Phoebus. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"We're trying to find the Heartless," Sora said, "But we're having no luck..."

Quasimodo nodded, "So, I wanted to ask you! You gypsies--"

"Romani," Both Shidou and Esmeralda corrected at once, the pair sharing a knowing glance.

Quasimodo flushed and chuckled awkwardly. "Y-yes, of course..." Coughing, he scratched behind his head, "Anyway...your people seem to know more about what actually goes on in Pairs then I do..."

Esmeralda furrowed her brows together in concern. "You shouldn't have come here," Her voice was low, "Clopin would have killed you on principle. If I wasn't here...." Her voice trailed off. Quasimodo looked sheepishly off to the side, his expression resembling that of a scolded child. The dark-haired woman sighed, "But regardless, I was here and you're all safe. We'll try to help."

"Thanks!" Shidou chirped.

By now, Clopin had lead them to a square where some of the nomads had set up shop. Sora looked about curiously at all of the odd goods, but noticed many of the Romani looked at him strangely. Suspicion, shock, and some with nervousness. He wondered why they looked at him like that, but soon noticed they weren't staring at him per-say.

They were staring at Quasimodo and Phoebus.

The bell ringer tried his best to hide behind Esmeralda, like a frightened child, keeping his head down. It seemed like he got this kind of reaction often, which made Sora felt sad for the poor guy. It had to be hard looking like he did, where everyone judged the kind, intelligent young man based upon his looks.

Phoebus, however, held himself sternly and strongly, radiating a stoic cold. He was, after all, considered the enemy of these people. Sora wondered why everyone seemed to hate the Romani, why Frollo was so insistent on hunting them. They seemed like everyone else, right? So what was the big deal? Sora himself was fairly dark-skinned himself, too. He'd have to ask Shidou about it later, since she knew about them.

Clopin lead them through the square and towards one of the many wagons. A table and chairs had been set up outside, he swept into one of the chairs, resting his elbows on the table top.

"So, what is it that brings such travelers to my court?"

"Well, we--"

Shidou suddenly rammed into Phoebus' side when he started to talk, so hard that he staggered to the side. "We'd like your expertise!" She chirped. The guard-captain looked shocked down at her, rubbing his now aching side.

"...She's stronger then she looks..." He muttered to Esmeralda, who smirked.

"She's much older, too." The dark woman commented slyly, crossing her arms.

Clopin grinned briefly at the exchange, but quickly returned his attention back to Shidou, raising a brow up. "And what, pray tell, would you topsiders need from the 'King of Thieves?'" He raised his hands and made air quotes for the phrase, muttering it sarcastically.

Sora blinked, wondering if this guy was the 'King' the guards had mentioned. He didn't exactly fit the vision Sora had of kings - all regal and decked up in fine clothing, draped with furs and jewels. An air of cool confidence, like you could tell who he was just by looking at him. Clopin, however, dressed as raggedy as everyone else in the Court of Miracles, and was even missing some teeth. He was...relaxed now, but at first, he was sarcastic and hostile. He seemed a little not-quite-right in the head too. Not someone you'd expect to be a King. But, then again, these Romani seemed hated by pretty much everyone, so maybe desperate times changed things.

While Sora was in his daze, Shidou did the talking. "Well, you know those shadow buggers that attacked the festival?" Clopin gave a nod of his head. "Well, they're called Heartless, and we've been traveling all over the place, hunting them! They're born from the darkness in people's hearts, and tend to seek out the darkness in others, too."

"Is that so?" Clopin leaned forward against the table he sat at, pressing a hand against the surface, his opposite elbow resting against the edge. "So darkness begets more of these...shadows?"

"Yep!" Shidou confirmed with a nod of her head, "They'll attack normal people too, since, ya'know, they're called Heartless because they don't have Hearts, so they seek them from people like us."

"Then you'll need to look no further." Esmeralda hissed, causing the group to look up and over at her.

Shidou blinked, "So...you know who might be targeted by them?"

"More like using them," Esmeralda said with a shake of her head, tossing her dark, thick locks about. "If you want a heart that's blacker then night, then you don't need to go further than--"

"Judge Claude Frollo." Clopin finished, his gaze darkened. "You'll find no man in Paris with a heart so clouded by hatred and anger then he."

Ashi narrowed her eyes. "...I knew something felt wrong about him..." She muttered to herself, Sora picking up on it and looking over at her.

Phoebus raised his hands, "Whoa, whoa! Slow down!" He exclaimed, looking shocked by this assumption. Both Romani turned towards the Guard and glared at him, causing him to shrink a bit in his armor. "Now, I'm not saying the guy is a Saint or anything, in fact he's...quite the opposite. But!" He lowered his hands and regained his cool poise, "I don't think he'd resort to using demons to attack the citizens of--"

There was a loud crash followed by shouting in the distance, cutting Phoebus off. Sighing, he turned on his heel, Clopin rising from the table and rounding about the group, just in time to see some haggard guards show up.

"What is the meaning of this? What is--"

"Sire, it's the City Guards!" The guardsman cut the Romani King off, Clopin's jaw snapping closed and his eyes widening. "They're attacking the Court!"

"Impossible..." Esmeralda whispered breathlessly, taking a step back.

Clopin took in a breath and whirled around, glaring over at her, "You said we could trust them!" He shouted down at her, causing her to flinch, "And look! Guards are swarming my Court!"

"Clopin, I don't think--" Esmeralda started.

"What else am I to assume, Esmeralda? That our friends only showed up moments before the City Guard? Pah!" Clopin hissed, "I knew we should have killed them right away!!" He turned back around, just in time to see a hoard of guards, lead by none other then Judge Frollo appear. Clopin closed his mouth again, narrowing his eyes up at the man adorned in all black, glaring sinisterly down at the group. Soon, the guards surrounded them.

"Tch, such manners from guests!" Clopin said snidely, crossing his arms. "I do hope you're looking to repair the damages you've made to my court, Judge."

Frollo scoffed, "Don't pretend that this is an actual court, gypsy." He snapped his fingers, the guards drawing their swords and brandishing them towards the group.

Sora tensed up and was about to call forth his Keyblade, but felt Ashi's hand place itself firmly upon his shoulder. He looked up at her, noticing her gaze was focused intently on Frollo. "Don't. There's too many of them." She said coolly down at him, Sora pursing his lips and nodding his head.

Even Phoebus was surrendering his weapon. "I'm disappointed on you, Phoebus." Frollo chided, "Here I had high hopes for you."

"Let's just say we're both disappointed, sir." Phoebus added dryly.

"Guards, clamp them in irons and put them with the rest," Frollo commanded, the guards surrounding them and producing shackles for the group. "And return Quasimodo to the bell tower, where he belongs." Quasimodo glared up at his master, but didn't object when some of the guards began to usher him away. Sora wondered how they were going to get out of this situation, offering his wrists up for the guardsmen to shackle up. He wished he was a quicker thinker so he could come up with some kind of clever escape for his friends, but alas! He was a bit too dim witted. Even their minor escape earlier was coordinated by Ashi, more-or-less.

He looked up to her, noticing how tense she was. Her eyes didn't leave Frollo's, even while she was being shackled and roughed up by the guards. Surely, she had some kind of plan! Right? Ashi always knew what to do! She'd get them out of this, no sweat!

"Those two, however." Frollo leaned forward in his saddle, gesturing towards Esmeralda and Ashi. "Take them to an isolated cell. I have special...plans for them."

"Yes, sir!" The guards bowed, separating pale-skinned and dark-skinned women from the others.

"Esmeralda!" Phoebus shouted, jerking in his captor's grasp. She looked back at him and gave a small, defeated shake of her head. He continued to struggle against the guards, but was quickly silenced when Frollo gave a small jerk of his head and a guard hit Phoebus on the head with a sword, knocking him out.

Sora turned his head after Ashi, looking over at her with concern. What on earth would that slippery bastard have in mind of them?! Given that Sora was still a teen, he didn't quite fathom anything super sinister, but he still fretted over Ashi's safety. Maybe she was going to pull something out while she and Esmeralda were being ushered away! Yeah, she'd come up with this totally cunning plot, escape from her captors and free the Romani! He waited eagerly for her to do something, but she was quickly disappearing from his view.

Craning his neck to try and see, all he saw was Ashi with her head down and being pushed along by the guards. With Sora being yanked in the opposite direction. That...that wasn't like her at all! There had to be something wrong. Sora jerked backwards to try and see her.

"Ashi!!" He called out, but was grabbed by one of the guards and shoved forward.

"Keep in line!" The guard shouted, pushing Sora's shoulder. He grunted and looked up again, only to notice she had disappeared in the chaos.

"Ashi?" Sora called out again, his voice cracking in desperation. "Ashi!" He became more panicked, trying to find her, any glimpse of her in the confusion of guards moving every-which-way, with Romani captives. But there was nothing. No response, no familiar flash of purple hair, no assurance she was safe. Something had to be wrong!

"Ashi!!"

 

\----

 

_Calm, cool...keep your thoughts in order. Do not panic, do not let fear control you..._

Ashi sat quietly in her and Esmeralda's cell, deep below the Palace of Justice in Paris. It was a lone cell in this segment of the dungeon, and just spacious enough for the two women to reside in. Only a small sliver of light from a torch outside of their dungeon flickered, and no light from above came down.

The young woman had been taking in her surroundings. Although it was dark in their cell, her eyes were always able to see better in the darkest areas, in the deepest of night, then anyone else she knew. While Esmeralda furiously paced back and forth, occasionally slamming on the bars, Ashi focused on figuring out a way to escape. It wasn't long before Esmeralda was taken away by the guards, leaving Ashi alone with her thoughts. Apparently, Frollo had different ideas for each of them.

Whenever she let her worries or anger appear, she would focus on her meditations and remember to become as water - calm, always flowing, always adapting. Strong, able to cut through rock with enough patience and time.

But time wasn't on their side.

Ashi wasn't sure what Frollo had in mind for the two women, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. The sooner they could escape, the better. Ashi had been carefully weighing her options; she had taken everything in from their trip into this isolated dungeon cell. There were two guards outside of the door, which she could easily take care of. In fact, given enough power behind her magic and she'd likely be able to carve her way out of the cell, but she needed to know what Frollo was planning for them and the others.

_Sora..._

Ashi furrowed her brows together. Whenever she wasn't weighing her options, she was fretting about him. Worrying about someone wasn't like her. But, she was sworn to protect him and right now, she wasn't doing that very well with the both of them locked up, and in separate dungeons to boot. However, she told herself he would be fine. After all, his Keyblade could, quite literally, unlock anything, including jail cells, shackles, what have you.

Hopefully he wouldn't forget that fact.

_Oh, who am I kidding?_ She thought bitterly, shifting her weight on the cold stone floor. _That boy's_ _hopeless_ _without me._

Regardless, she would not be separated from her charge for much longer. Not while she was still breathing. She had to get to him soon. Keep him safe, at her side. Where Sora belonged.

The door to their prison creaked loudly, jerking her from her thoughts. Guards hauled Esmeralda in and tossed her into their cell. They barely blinked before marching over to Ashi and grasped her by either arm, dragging her from the cell and locking Esmeralda in behind her.

"I can walk by myself." Ashi insisted, shifting onto her feet and walking in step with them. Holding herself proudly, like the Daimyo she was. Only this was the first time she was ever captured; and she didn’t have an army to save her.

"Silence, prisoner!" One of the guards shouted, squeezing her arm harder. Ashi had to resist the urge to throw him to the ground with just her arm, knowing that now was not the ideal time to be escaping from her prison. "The Judge will be seeing you now!"

Oh, just charming. Ashi thought sarcastically, straightening up and wondering how she would resist the urge to spit in that man's face.

Clopin and Esmeralda were right - the darkness in that man's heart was terrifying. Not as bad as Emeraude's was, but still deep and intense. No doubt he was the source of the Heartless, or at least what was drawing them to this world. However, even deep in this catacombs, she couldn't pin-point them; that feeling alone continued the feeling of disquiet in her heart.

She would find out soon enough.

Ashi kept her back straight and her presence as cold and stoic as it usually was. The guards lead her through the twisting turns of the dungeon, and she made a note to recall when she turned and which direction. Any time they passed by an alcove that could be additional cells, she also made a note of it; she would have to find Sora once she escaped. For now, she needed to astern what Frollo's goal was, and if he really was the origin of the Heartless in this world.

She'd find out soon enough.

Moments later, they pulled her out of the dungeons and through long hallways. It took a moment for Ashi's eyes to adjust to the sunlight again, given how long she had been locked in the catacombs. This part didn't matter; she just had to focus on the main path, noting the hall that surely lead out of the place they were in. Wherever that was.

Opening a large door, the guards lugged her into what appeared to be a court room. But, there were no spectators, no jury; just Frollo and a few more guards. He sneered at her, studying her with his beady little eyes. She narrowed her own up at him, but kept her back straight and her eyes focused on him. He made a little gesture with his hand, the guards releasing her, though her hands remained shackled.

"You know why you are here." Frollo stated, as if it was fact.

Ashi narrowed her blue eyes at him. "You'll have to _enlighten_ me, judge." He sneered at her again.

"Insolent wench!" Frollo hissed, marching forward and glaring down at her. He took her face in his hands, wrenching it upwards. "Do not think you can hide what you really are from me!" The grip he held her with was harsh and firm, the tips of his finger practically feeding ice into her skin. Still, Ashi did not falter, nor react in any way. She would not give him the pleasure.

"And what is it that I am?"

Frollo's sneer only grew, thrusting her away from him with his hand. She staggered back, but was able to keep her footing. He paced away from her, his hands twisting the cloth of his long sleeves. A mere few steps away from her, and he whipped around, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You are nothing but a she-devil!" He spat, "I know your kind, wench!! A woman, fight? Absolutely preposterous! The work of the devil himself!" Frollo lowered his pointing hand and threw his arms up into the air. "Women should know their place, and that is not on the battle field! Only Satan could invoke such a thing in a usually delicate creature!!"

Ashi remained in place, cold and stoic, watching Frollo with her cold eyes. The judge was mad, driven to hatred against the Romani, against woman too, it seemed. "We are not as delicate as you claim, judge." She managed to say without sounding like she was spitting poison. Frollo nearly growled at her in response. How typical. It seemed men here didn't think woman were capable of fighting, leading an army or killing someone else. At least back home she had some sliver of respect.

"The last woman who was like you, I sent to the stake!" Once again, he pointed an accusing finger at her, "She would have lead this whole country to ruin! Do not think I will not do it again, whore!" He lashed out with his hand and slapped Ashi across the face. Her head snapped back, but she didn't react otherwise. That only made him more angry, growling again and gesturing to the two guards.

They reached for Ashi's arms, but instead of hauling her off, they grabbed onto the fabric of her sleeves. "I will find proof of your romp with Satan, girl!" Frollo threatened, and she didn't react when they tore the sleeves off, revealing her intricate arm tattoos. Both guards let out audible gasps and backed up, staring at the markings like they were some sort of unholy symbol. To her, they were marks of power; her power. Frollo, as well, recoiled, raising an arm up to block the sight of the tattoos from his vision.

"I knew it..." He hissed darkly, "This woman has been touched by the devil! _Chosen_ to be his herald of destruction! There is no saving you from the flames of _damnation!_!"

There was no response to this accusation. Ashi merely stood there, motionless, looking right into Frollo’s beady little eyes with her own abnormally pale ones. She raised her chin high, her back straight and her gaze focused and intense, as if boring right into his soul. The lack of response or reaction to the judge’s claim only caused him to seethe even more, but she would not back down. Men like this didn’t frighten her - men who were intimidated by women far more intelligent, capable and powerful then they were. He would soon learn. Just like all of the others back home.

She wasn’t known as the Chrysanthemum Devil for nothing.

She could practically see Frollo’s teeth grinding behind his clenched jaw, the fire burning in his eyes. “Have you nothing to say, witch?” His words came out as hot embers, spat out before him, his slender hands clenching into fists. Ashi continued to be silent, her eyes still boring into him. Those pursed lips of Frollo’s turned into a sneer. “Then I will accept this as an admission of guilt!” He gestured to the guards with his head, the men grasping her upper arms again. “Take her to the dungeon! Keep here there until tonight, where she will be burned alive as a witch and a heretic, just like all of the others!” He began to turn around.

“You think that will stop me?”

Frollo snapped his head back towards her, the guards having stopped in dragging Ashi off. He narrowed his eyes. “What?” He hissed.

“You really think that you can cage me, Frollo?” Ashi continued, still staring at him even though the guards had begun to turn her around.

“I can, and I will, witch!” The judge spat between his clenched teeth, glaring fire down at her. Ashi narrowed her eyes in turn, the guards attempting to haul her off. “I am a man of divine judgment! The will of God _will not_ fail me, and you will _bow_ to His _might_!!”

Ashi turned her head away from Frollo, finally allowing the guards to carry her off.

 

“I’d like to see you try.”

 


	13. World on Fire

 

Ashi was chucked back into her and Esmerelda’s cell. The bars were slammed closed behind her, and soon, the light from the hallway was sucked away when the dungeon’s door was shut.

“So...what did that slimy bastard say to you?”

Turning her head around, Ashi took a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Esmeralda sat on the small ledge - used for a bed - on the stone wall. The dark-haired woman rose up, looking in the general direction she had heard Ashi get tossed in.

Ashi shrugged, even though the other woman likely couldn’t see the gesture. “He’s intimidated by me,” She said in a straight, icy tone, her eyes scanning for anything she could use to help with her shackles. “It’s fairly clear he believes a woman’s place is on their back, not in the battlefield.” Esmeralda snorted at the comment.

“ _Tell_ me about it.” She groaned, her shackles clanking when she rose her hands to rub her temples. “He _honestly_ is trying to burn me for _heresy_! Without any jury! That’s _not_ how justice works!”

“Hn,” Ashi made a small noise in compliance, finding the edge of the ledge which was sharper then the others. Yes, this would do nicely. “He said much of the same to me.” Twitching her fingers, she called for her magic to cause the chain between her shackled wrists to begin to freeze, which made the metal brittle. “He also said I was a witch.”

Esmeralda groaned, “Of _course_ he did,” Ashi could almost hear the roll of Esmeralda’s green eyes, “I’m going to guess here: he has no proof, does he?”

Ashi found herself giving a small chuckle. “...Well, he’s not _wrong_.”

Esmeralda stopped, her brows raising up. “...Eh?” Came her startled, confused expression.

Ashi didn’t respond to her companion’s reaction. Raising her wrists up, she brought them down hard towards the jagged edge, aiming the chains of her shackles over the edge. A sharp, loud _clank_ echoed across their dungeon, the chains breaking free from the force. Esmeralda reeled backwards when she heard the noise, raising a hand to her chest from the echoing sound. Of course, she has no idea what Ashi had just did, the light was too dim for anyone _normal_ to see in.

Ashi ignored her reaction, repeating the action on her wrists and shattering the iron that encased them. Once off, she rubbed her wrists and turned to the still-startled Esmeralda. “Here.”

“What did you do?” Esmeralda questioned, feeling Ashi’s hand encircle hers, the younger woman guiding her to the slab to repeat the process. “What _are_ you doing?”

“Getting us out of here,” Ashi responded simply, icing over the chain that held Esmeralda’s shackles together. She felt the older woman shiver, briefly glancing up at her and noticing her somewhat perplexed expression.

“What? _How?_ ” Esmeralda asked, Ashi raising her arms up and slamming them down, shattering the chains. Esmeralda gave an audible gasp and stumbled back, raising her hands and looking at them - unseeing - in the shadow of their dungeon. After moving her arms apart a few times, she looked over towards where Ashi stood. “...How...h-how did you...?”

The corners of Ashi’s lips turned up into a smirk. “ _Magic_.”

Before Esmeralda could respond to that simple answer, Ashi pointed her palm at their jail’s door. Gathering a sphere of pure force magic, she thrust her palm forward and blasted the door off of it’s hinges - and clear across the room where it crashed against the opposite wall. It crumbled down with an ear-splitting _clang_ , Esmeralda gave another flinch and a startled gasp. Ashi moved out of the open jail cell, heading towards the door.

No doubt the guards heard _that_.

She got her answer seconds later - before Esmeralda could think of a response - the dungeon door flew open and flooded the room in pale yellow light.

The guards looked flabbergasted at the escaped prisoner before them, as well as the completely demolished jail cell door laying against the floor several feet away from where it _should_ have been. Ashi calmly approached the guards, staring at them with her pale eyes. Once they realized that the prisoner was coming towards them, the two hapless men drew their swords towards her.

“I don’t know how the hell you did it, but stand down!” One of them barked.

“Y-yeah! There’s two of us and one of you!” The other added, more sheepishly then the first. “ _And_ we’re armed!”

Ashi’s lips twitched into a smirk. “Oh, really? That’s hardly _fair..._ for you.” The men exchanged glances.

“W-what do you mean...?” The second asked again, gripping his sword tightly.

“Yeah! There’s no _way_ a _woman_ could defeat two trained _men_! Especially without anything to _fight_ us with!” The first said haughtily, keeping his cool. Ashi snorted, shaking her head at their arrogance.

“Who says I need a weapon to stop you?”

Without giving another word of warning, she lunged forward. The more nervous guard slashed his sword down, but she quickly disappeared into a burst of petals. Re-appearing behind him, she thrust her hand out towards the unprotected nape of his neck, releasing a spike of ice that drove through his spine. The man didn't even get to make a sound when he collapsed onto the ground, Ashi quickly scooping up his sword and donning an offensive position.

“Wh-what the--” The other guard stammered, before he began to slash with his blade.

Ashi gripped her sword with two hands, unfamiliar with this type of sword, but it wasn’t something that would shake her. She easily parried his weapon again and again, before raising it up over his head. When he went for her gut, she easily parried it again. She snapped her hand out and grabbed his wrists, snapping the sword out of his hand.

“I am a general and a warlord,” She kicked the downed sword out of his reach, lowering her own before his face. “Men like you do not frighten me.” And, raising the sword up, she brought it down against his face before twisting the weapon and nailing him in the nose with the pommel. The guard cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, holding his bloody face. She then twisted the sword and jabbed it right in his under-arm and pulled it there, causing a gush of blood to come squirting out.

With both of the guards down, Ashi lowered her sword and scooped up the second, turning to face Esmeralda.

“Let’s go.”

Esmeralda wasn’t so eager to walk away without an explanation, however. “Okay first of all,” The Romani woman pointed to the shattered cell door, “How did you do _that_?” She pointed at the guard with an icicle clear through his neck.

Ashi shrugged, “I told you, magic.”

Esmeralda raised a dark brow, “What, like... _literal_ magic?” She asked in disbelief.

Ashi heaved a frustrated sigh. She didn’t have time for this. Raising her off-hand, she summoned a fireball in it, allowing the flames to churn various shades of blue, violet and black. “I told you - Frollo wasn’t wrong about that part of me.” She commented dryly, seeing Esmeralda staring at the ball of fire with a mixture of wonder and horror on her face. Clenching her fist and extinguishing the flames, Ashi bent down and grabbed a sword from one of the guards. “Can you handle a weapon?” She avoided any other questions on the topic, because she had to find Sora.

Esmeralda made a mock scoff, “I’m a Romani, I _have_ to be able to fight if I want to survive.” Ashi tossed the sword at her, the dark-skinned woman expertly catching the hilt.

“Good, then let’s go. We can talk more once we’re out of here.”

Esmeralda nodded, following Ashi out of the dungeon. “Right.”

 

\-----

 

“Where the heck are they?!”

Sora, Shidou and Phoebus had been running around the dungeons for what _must_ have been an hour. After sitting around for a while, Sora _finally_ remembered he had a giant, magical key that could open anything. So, after freeing himself, Shidou and the other guard-captain, they had found the other captured Romani and released them. Clopin took his people back to the surface - apparently, he had been in these dungeons before - while Sora wanted to find Ashi. Phoebus came with them as well, equally worried about Esmeralda.

Apparently, the blonde man didn’t know the dungeons very well.

Sora had been running around in circles with them, occasionally beating down any guards they found, and they _still_ had gotten nowhere! Phoebus had even commented he had no idea where they were right now, or now to get back up top. _Great_.

“They’ve _gotta_ be in the lower cells!” Phoebus said for the _thousandth_ time.

“Then where are those?” Sora snapped, feeling himself becoming increasingly frustrated at how _lost_ they were. He tried to tell himself at _least_ they weren’t lost inside a giant whale’s digestive track this time - though the smell was still pretty bad.

“Look, I’ve only been down there _once!_ This place is a giant maze - _for a reason_ , I might add!” Phoebus argued, glaring down at the petite hero. “I’m _trying_ to get us there, but it’s a little difficult with every hallway looking the damn same, _and_ guards popping out every two seconds!”

Sora huffed, “Well, try harder!” He retorted, crossing his arms and pouting. “We don’t know what that creepy guy wanted with Ashi and Esmeralda! We need to _hurry!_ ”

“Listen here, you little squirt!” Phoebus glared at Sora, “I told you, _I am trying!_ Now pipe down before we alert every guard in this place--”

“Uh, hate to break up your little spat!” Shidou cut in. Both men stopped arguing and turned towards where she was, and she was already fending off several guards that had showed up while they were bickering. “But I _kind of_ could use some help here!”

Sharing a glance, Sora and Phoebus quickly dashed forward and went to go help her with the handful of men that had popped up to challenge them. But, neither of them got to do much damage before a wave of blue-and-purple ice covered the ground below the gaggle of guards, causing them to quickly lose their footing and collapse to the ground.

And, right on cue, Ashi leaped over them and landed on the ice field, releasing massive explosions of dark energy below the feet of the guards with her Naginata. The ice shattered and released razor sharp shards all across the room, and every guard gave a cry of pain before they all collapsed after the attack.

“Well, guess we didn’t need to save them after all,” Phoebus commented with a smirk. Esmeralda met his gaze and also smirked.

“Really? You should know by now I _don’t_ need rescuing,” She teased, the once-guard giving a low chuckle at the comment.

Sora, meanwhile, had rushed over to Ashi. “Ashi! Are you okay?!”

“I should be asking _you_ that question, Sora.” She sighed, one corner of her mouth tugging into a half-smirk. Seeing the expression on her face made him turn red, blinking his eyes. After all, it was only just _recently_ that she showed anything besides her perpetually perturbed expression.

But then he noticed the back-handed comment.

“H-hey!” Sora puffed his cheeks out in indignation, glaring up at her. “I-I can take care of myself!”

“Of _course_ ,” Ashi said, her face returning to it’s normal flat expression and her voice deadpanning once more. It was hard to tell if she was belittling - or teasing - him again. “But you seem to forget - _I’m_ supposed to be protecting _you_ , Sora.” Sora huffed in response, averting his gaze away from her. “Regardless, we should get out of here. No doubt Frollo is aware of our escape.”

Instantly, Sora closed his mouth. He wasn’t sure how the hell to tell Ashi they had been _completely lost_ just a few seconds before.

“Well, do _you_ have any idea how to get out of here?” Thankfully, he didn’t have to as Shidou cocked an uneasy grin at Ashi, “We’ve been freaking _lost_ for ages!”

Ashi heaved an exasperated sigh and rubbed her temples. “ _Of course_ you were.” She grumbled, instantly returning to her usual self. Sora wondered how she could always be so frustrated with pretty much everything. “Luckily for you, I happened to study where I was going and know how to leave, _and_ find the armory to retrieve our weapons.” She tossed Phoebus' sword to him, who eagerly caught it and replaced it with the shoddy one he had swiped from a guards. At least Shidou's were small enough she could hide them on her person.

“Thank God!” Phoebus breathed a sigh of relief, “At least _one_ of you is competent!”

“Hey...!” Sora interjected, but stopped when he noticed Ashi was already walking away. Blinking, he quickly scurried after her. “W-wait up!”

 

\-----

 

With Ashi’s keen sense of direction - thankfully not muddled by half-digested giant space whale food - the group made it out of the dungeons. And, somehow, managed to avoid getting caught. And wove through the streets of Paris, heading back to the Cathedral. Without being caught. Sora was pretty sure this was way, way too easy; but so far so good! Ashi didn’t seem horribly uneasy, either. At least, not yet. Maybe they could bust Quasimodo out just fine and dandy, and everything would be great!

Famous last words.

Sora inwardly groaned as soon as they entered one of the plaza’s on the way to the Cathedral, only to find Frollo and his armor-clad goons waiting for them. The instant they stepped into the plaza, he noticed that Ashi tensed up considerably, and she lowered her Naginata down to the side in a battle-ready position. He wasn’t sure if it was because of Frollo, or for some other reason.

“You’ve made it very difficult for me to keep this city in order,” Frollo said, his tone icy and his gaze narrowed. “First, summoning monsters from Hell itself to attack the fair, now releasing those heretic Gypsies from my control...and now this!” His jaw clenched and his hands gestured out to his sides. Sora was about to interject the Heartless wasn’t their fault, but stopped when he noticed the guards acting rather... _strange_.

Ashi’s grip on her Naginata tightened and her jaw set.

Sora looked up at her, “Ashi...?” He barely had time to hear a response when he turned his head over to the guards, who were all jerking around quite strangely. Suddenly, their forms shifted, their skin turning black and blue and their eyes glowing yellow. Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and struck an offensive position, watching the poor men change into Heartless before his very eyes.

“You see what you’ve made me do!” Frollo hissed, pointing dramatically at the group before him, “I will stop at _nothing_ to ensure Paris is safe from the likes of _witches_ and _heathens_ like you!! Even if I must sacrifice my own men in the process in order to stop you!”

Esmeralda shook her head, “H-he’s mad...!” She whispered breathlessly, her face twisted into a dark, tense glare.

Frollo began to slowly approach the group, his Heartless minions skulking behind him, “These minions of Hell will put an end to you all, mark my words! I will destroy each of you, allow them to drag you down into the very _pits!_ ” Narrowing his eyes, he turned on his heel and pointed dramatically at the Cathedral. “Just as I should have done to Quasimodo long ago - and I shall now rectify that mistake.”

Sora’s eyes widened, “H-he...he wouldn’t...!” He gasped.

“He _would_ ,” Ashi said tensely, holding her Naginata ready at her side, her pale eyes narrowing. She didn’t elaborate, but she didn’t need to. Sora trusted her judgment, swallowing hard and tightening his grip on the Keyblade.

“Don’t you _dare_ touch that innocent man!” Esmeralda spat, her hands clenching into tight fists, “He has _nothing_ to do with this!!”

Frollo gritted his teeth, “Insolent _bitch!_ ” He shouted, his words coming out like sparks of flame themselves. “Do you understand _nothing?_ He is a hellspawn himself! Made by sorcery and witchcraft, born of heathens like yourself! It is only fitting what I should have done _years_ ago...and you will be meeting him in his _grave!_ ” Raising a hand, he snapped his fingers.

With the sound echoing across the streets in the stillness of the early morning, more Heartless rose. Tens, hundreds, _thousands_ of them. Sora’s eyes widened in shock, looking around him. There were so many! He hadn’t ever _seen_ so many Heartless before!! Frollo’s heart must be so riddled with darkness to summon so many! Or was something else keeping them hidden? Ashi did say she felt their lingering presence, but couldn’t pin-point it...was it because of how many of them there were?! Gulping, he prepared for a long, hard battle.

With an eerily calm, dark expression upon his face, Frollo rose his hand and then brought it down. The Heartless quickly disbursed and began to tear through the city, weaving in and out of the streets and tight back-allies. Those who had stirred in the morning began to cry out in terror of these monsters, cries and shrieks filling the once-stillness of the day. And, in the midst of the chaos, Frollo disappeared, no doubt heading towards the Cathedral.

What were they going to do?!

“We need to go!” Ashi shouted, her blade already cleaving through a group of the Heartless before them. “We have to stop Frollo!!”

“But--” Sora bit down on his lower lip, looking to the city. Heartless were causing mass panic everywhere; people were already getting hurt, losing their Hearts to them.

“If Frollo is the cause of this, you need to stop him before he gets too far!” Esmeralda offered, cutting through one of the monsters with the sword she had in her hand, “Phoebus and I will do what we can for the city!”

“Right!” Phoebus agreed, knocking a Heartless away with his shield and then stabbed another.

“I...w-we just can’t--” Sora began to protest.

“Sora, we have to go!” Ashi’s voice cut through again, her free hand reaching out and grabbing hold of his arm. He looked up at her with wide, startled eyes, seeing the own intensity of her gaze. “If we can stop Frollo, we’ll stop the Heartless! And if he manages to kill Quasimodo...I don’t know what that will do to him, to his Heart.” She gave his arm a squeeze and narrowed her eyes, “We have to stop him before it’s too late!”

Sora felt his heart pounding in his throat, suddenly feeling very weak and small right now. He could hear the cries of the people behind him, but even so, he knew Ashi was right. He knew it, deep down; that there wasn’t anything that they could do right now. They had to potentially sacrifice the people of this city to stop the man causing terror on them. Cut off the snake’s head, he had read in one of his school books, what seems like forever ago now. Glancing over his shoulder, Sora looked back and saw Esmeralda and Phoebus fighting off the Heartless, getting through to the people; even the people had begun to pick up crude weapons to defend themselves with. His chest tightened, seeing those who were defenseless get cut down by the Heartless, knowing he couldn’t do anything to save them.

The best way to was to find Frollo.

Pursing his lips, Sora looked back up to Ashi and met her cool, steely gaze. Taking in a deep breath, he nodded his head. “...Okay.”

Without a change in her expression, Ashi let go of his arm and faced toward. “Shidou! We need to cut a path to the Cathedral!” She shouted.

“Right!” The perky yo-yo user swung down from wherever she was - seriously, was she on a _roof?_ \- and landed beside Ashi. “Think the kid’s up to it?”

“He’ll have to be.” Ashi’s tone was flat, her cold eyes glancing down at him. Sora knew what they meant, and he knew he’d have to be prepared for it. Pursing his lips, he steadied himself and tried to ignore the churning chaos behind them. Lifting his eyes up, he gazed at the Cathedral in the distance, giving a short, confident nod of his head.

“I am.” He said, trying not to let his nerves break through in his voice.

“Let’s do this!” Shidou chirped with a smirk, giving her wrists a good shake to loosen them up.

Taking in a deep breath, Sora allowed his magic to open up. He reached out towards the two women on either side of him, but not physically. Instead, he reached with his heart, with his magic; and felt them respond in turn. The trio’s unified magic began to swirl together, flowing to and fro between the group. Without thought, Sora looked towards the swarm of Heartless closing in on them, blocking their path to the Cathedral. Raising his off hand, he summoned a sphere of orange-and-gold fire within it. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ashi do the same, calling forth her purple-and-black fireball. Their flames intermingled and formed one giant orb of flame. Then, Shidou lashed out with her yo-yo’s, releasing a large slice of wind out from them and towards the fireball.

The flames fanned out in a large arch before them, consuming the first wave of Heartless. While the flames burned through them, Ashi and Sora repeated the same motions, summoning a swirling fireball of their combined magic. Shidou once again released a blade of wind from her yo-yo’s, this time swinging down to create a vertical burst of flame that cut a neat path through their foes. The trio repeated the motions over and over again, Shidou turning the flame into a blazing work of art, twisting and turning the combined fire with her wind magic, but always careful to keep it aimed at the Heartless, and never the city surrounding them. The _last_ thing these people needed right now was their city set on fire!

The group moved forward as more and more of the Heartless were destroyed by the Limit, and before long the Cathedral courtyard was in view. Finally, Sora and Ashi created a larger fireball then before, Shidou thrusting her yo-yo’s deep into the heart of it. Wind magic lashed out from within the fireball, causing a massive cyclone of fanned flames to destroy most of the remaining Heartless before them.

With the path clear, Ashi lowered her Naginata from her shoulder and into it’s usual ready position. “Let’s go.” She said, her voice icy and focused. Sora gave a nod and the trio ran into the large, oaken doors of the Cathedral.

Frollo had to be stopped.

 

\-----

 

The streets of Paris were burning; and Quasimodo could not remain Stone no longer.

Rocks were hurled from the top of the Cathedral down towards a corrupted Frollo. Blackness had consumed his form and jagged spikes and feathers had grown from his back. Black-and-red eyes burned from the flaming marble below as he tried to scale the Cathedral of Norte Dame. Had he turned into a true Heartless, or something else? Regardless, Quasimodo attempted to fend off the dark-consumed Judge on his own. But back-up was already on it’s way!

“Sora, get on my back!” Ashi had shouted from behind Frollo. There was no _way_ they were going to fight this giant _monster_ from the ground! They had to take to the skies, and Sora was the lightest member of the team to go flying with Ashi.

Sora readily jumped onto Ashi’s back, locking his knees under her arms and grabbing her Naginata in one hand, wielding his Keyblade in the other. She held fast onto him and took off into the air with a beat of her large, black wings. Shidou coiled her yo-yos around one of the gargoyles and began to swing upwards.

“Let’s do this!” She shouted, quickly scaling the building.

“We got you, Quasi!” Sora shouted from his position on Ashi’s back, nestled between her wings. He saw Quasimodo on the edge of the tower, cracking off one of the Gargoyle’s heads and smacking Frollo right in the nose with it. He locked eyes with Sora.

“We have to stop him!” He shouted, Sora meeting his gaze and giving a confident nod in return. Sora channeled his magic into both weapons he held, feeling Ashi using her own to mix with his. Bolts of ice, lightning and fire showered down upon the huge monster, Sora flinging the magic as fast as he could. But it seemed to be the equivalent of throwing Milk Duds at someone! Shidou landed besides Quasimodo and combined her wind magic with his rocks and stones, hurling them with twice the velocity as he could throw them. It seemed to at _least_ give the giant Heartless some pause, or caused him to fall back, but sheesh! He was _not_ going down easily!

“Let me try something!” Sora called down to Ashi, relaxing the arm that held her Naginata. He began to collect the magic energy she was channeling into him, and also charging his own magic into his Keyblade. He focused all of it into the weapon, sort of a Limit Break, but not really. More like a...super-charged energy attack? Gosh, what sounded just as cool as a Limit Break without it sounding so...break-y?

“Hey Frollo!” Sora shouted at the top of his lungs. Surprisingly, the Heartless jerked his head around to glare at him directly. And Sora didn’t lose his nerve. “You eating enough carbs?! Maybe it’s time you ate _this!!_ ” He yelled, chucking his Keyblade in a massive, swirling arch of colors - a Combo Buster! That sounded cool, _right_?!

Unfortunately, Frollo’s mouth _wasn’t_ open, but the Keyblade _did_ hit him square in the face. It released a huge, colorful explosion of lighting, flame and ice - all combined with Ashi’s unique dark versions of her spells - and the judge’s dark form let out a cry of pain. And promptly collided with the Cathedral, ramming hard into it and causing a good deal of the lower levels to collapse under the force.

“...Uh...” Sora store at the destruction he had accidentally caused, dumbfounded. That was a priceless building even _he_ had heard of, back home. His Keyblade popped back into his hands, and he heard Ashi sigh.

“Sora...”

“I _know_.” He put his face into his hands while trying not to hurt himself or Ashi in the process with his weapons.

“...Leave the sassy one-liners to me.”

“-- _Eh_?!” Sora looked up and craned his neck down to her. Did she just--

“Guys!! Try not to destroy the really important, super historic and gorgeous Cathedral _we’re standing on!!_ ” Shidou shouted.

“I _LIVE_ HERE!!” Quasimodo reminded, his tone as fiery as the burning city.

“We need to get him _away_ from the Cathedral!” Ashi noted, “We should focus on--”

It didn’t take long for Frollo to recover, leaping out from the rubble (thankfully the Cathedral was still standing!) and swiping his claws at Ashi. She was so close to him that Sora could _feel_ the wind rushing past his face. A shudder ran down his spine.

“ _Shit!_ ” Ashi cursed and swerved sharply to the side, hanging on tightly to Sora. He wrapped one of his arms around her neck, careful not to hurt her. “Are you alright?!” She shouted back at him.

“F-Fine!” He reported back, though his heart was racing from the near-hit. Some of her feathers were floating away in the wind. Ashi spread her wings out and caught them in the air, righting the pair and making another pass towards Frollo. But he had his eyes set on them, opening his giant, dripping maw and releasing a huge blast of fire. Another string of cruses came from Ashi and she banked downward, just barely skirting under it. Sora gave a hiss when the fire just passed over them, the heat of the flame burning the top of his head and singing his hair. Ashi just barely scraped the ground with her knees and elbows.

“He’s too big!” Sora grunted, “How did he _get_ so strong?!”

“He’s feeding off the darkness in his heart, and from the chaos from the burning city!” Ashi coughed, flapping her wings harder to bank back upwards. She once again narrowly dodged another attack from Frollo. Shidou and Quasimodo quickly drew his attack off of them by more hurled stones, but it was obvious it was just a distraction. They needed something stronger; even Sora’s aptly named Combo Buster didn’t seem to do much damage, it only stunned him. “As long as he’s too close to the Cathedral, we can’t pull off a Limit Break! And anywhere in the square, he’d go into the city if we did one!”

Sora pursed his lips. What could they--

His eyes were drawn upwards. He remembered Quasimodo mentioned something about repairs to the upper part of one of the towers. “Ashi, go up higher!” He shouted down to her, pointing upwards. “There might be something we can use up there!!”

“Right!” Ashi didn’t question him, beating her wings hard and shooting up into the air.

It only took moments for them to arrive above the towers of the Cathedral. Ashi narrowed her eyes. “Those are cauldrons of lead...” She whispered, “And those are drainage lines that feed down for the rain. Sora--”

“Get me close, we need to heat those up!” Sora knew where she was going with this. Ashi was already heading down to them, and Sora channeled his fire magic down the two weapons he held, quickly heating the massive vats of lead until they were boiling red. Ashi quickly went over to the other tower and did the same. Their minds were in sync right then; he never felt closer to her then in that moment. His heart was racing; whether from the adrenaline from the battle, his own feelings or a mix of both, he wasn’t sure.

As soon as they were heated, Ashi shot down towards where Shidou and Quasimodo were still trying to fight the enraged and enormous Frollo. “Shidou!” Sora shouted, “Get Quasi up to the rooftops! We need to do a Limit Break up there; you’ll see what I mean!”

“Got it!” Shidou surrounded the hunchback with wind and was already lassoing up.

“Sora and I will distract Frollo and get him away from the Cathedral!” Ashi added, zipping away. “You ready, Sora?”

Sora pursed his lips, shifting his Keyblade and her Naginata in his hands. “I am.”

“We got this, Sora.” Ashi threw a bit of encouragement his way, the pair watching Frollo swipe at Shidou, but her nimbly dodging and maneuvering Quasimodo out of the way.

He grinned. “I know.”

“Hey, you inadequate, son-of-a-whore _sodomite_!!” Ashi shouted at the top of her lungs. Sora felt his entire face turn red at the level of _rude_ Ashi went with her insult. Like, holy _crap,_ she was _savage!_ Frollo’s head snapped around and his eyes burned with such a fury it made Sora _petrified_ with fear. “You said you wanted to show me the wrath of your so-called _‘God!_ ’ Well here I am, you insignificant _whoreson!_ Come and _get_ me!!”

The Frollo-Monster let out a slithery hiss - it sent chills up Sora’s spine! - and he charged towards them. Ashi flared her wings out and steadied their position, and Sora could feel her magic flowing through him. Frollo wasn’t quite far enough away from the Cathedral, but it was enough to keep him distracted while Shidou and Quasimodo got into position. His mouth opened with flame burning in it. Now would be a _good time_ for Sora to suddenly learn ice magic.

But it didn’t come. Of course it didn’t; he was so focused on the savagery that was Ashi’s insults. Dear _lord,_ was she only 16? So, instead, he allowed Ashi’s ice magic to pool inside of him, while he charged his lightning. Close enough, right? Clasping the dual-wielding weapons together, Sora gave a shout and released their combined magics together, and threw the blast out before him. Their combined spells coiled together in a corkscrew, meeting the deranged judge’s blast-head on. Sora gritted his teeth when he felt the resistance, putting more of his crackling magic into the attack. Ashi’s hands gripped tighter to his legs, her wings beating harder to keep them in place over the burning stone. “We got this!” She reiterated over clenched teeth, Sora confidently nodding his head. Lightning sparked and crackled out around them, and her own chilling aura swept over the scorched and burning ground, beginning to quell the fire in the surrounding area.

Finally, Sora could feel the reigns loosen. His and Ashi’s combined power overtook Frollo’s for just and instant, and that’s all that was needed. Their blast overtook his and struck him in the chest, hurtling him backwards and away from the Cathedral. The blast exploded in a flurry of sparks and ice, spreading outwards and fanning the flames surrounding it. Ashi poured more of her ice magic into it, causing the surrounding area to rapidly cool down and disbursing some of the fire. But the time for rejoicing wasn’t over yet. They hadn’t defeated Frollo yet; they needed to get rid of him!

Ashi beat her wings and rapidly approached the Cathedral again. Sora squinted through the embers and the smoke, and saw Quasimodo standing strong and proud on one of the towers. Magic was coiling around him and he began to push over one of the massive cauldrons of boiling lead; Shidou’s wind magic was combining with his strength. She also put shielding on his arms so they wouldn't burn on the burning cauldrons. Sora could hear him chanting over the chaos.

 

“ _Come all you saints of stone_  
All you guardians and gargoyles  
Raise the fire in the night  
Raise the fire now and light--”

 

During his chant, the blazing, liquefied lead poured from the cauldron when it dropped; his strength and Shidou’s magic transferred over to the other cauldron, causing it to tip over as well. Sora combined his magic with Shidou’s to keep the lead burning hot, rushing down from the tipped cauldrons. Ashi used her own magic to spread it down over the vents used for funneling rain down and away from the Cathedral, guiding it as it gushed down.

 

“ _\--These vats of lead_  
Steaming, boiling streams of lead  
Burning lead and let  
The flames grow higher--”

 

Frollo looked up and watched in terror as the boiling lead began to pour off of the towers, in a hot, burning torrent towards him.

 __  
“--Oh, saints and monster  
Show your power  
Help me to send this raging shower  
Raining fire on the stone below!”

 

Massive, boiling, burning waterfalls of lead came cascading off of the towers, flooding off of every gargoyle, every saint, every maw and opening, and it rushed down towards the fallen judge. Frollo’s dark, twisted form tried to escape, but the combined power of the four on the rooftop was too much for him to run from. The boiling lead soon surrounded him. And in a wash, it consumed him.

A faint voice could be heard bellowing from it.

“ _Damnation...!”_

And, like that, the terror was over.

The lead rapidly cooled when the magic died down, encasing him in a solid lead mass. The darkness faded; the fires began to cool. And the sun rose on Paris once again.

 

\-----

 

“You sure you won’t be staying?” Esmeralda asked, covered in soot and grime and probably blood, but it didn’t diminish the smile on her face. “Pretty sure all of Paris will be putting Frollo’s demonic, lead-encased corpse in the center of the Cathedral courtyard, and laud all of you _and_ Quasimodo as heroes!”

Sora blushed furiously, flicking the tip of his nose with his thumb. “N-no, we really should be going...” He muttered sheepishly. As much as he wanted to sleep, and then eat, then nap...and to stay for the impromptu festival, of course! They had found the Keyhole in the Cathedral, and there were more worlds to save! Plus, Ashi insisted. Of course.

“Sora got his shiny new Keyblade, that’s all we could ask for!” Shidou slung her arm over his shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. Sure enough, the Keyhole had given him a new Keychain to equip, and the Keyblade was _really pretty._ It had a sparkling stained glass window and all! “Well, that and defeating a psychopath and saving the world. All part of the contract!”

“W-we have a _contract_?” Sora asked, blinking up at her.

She shrugged, “At the rate we’re going, we might as well _have_ one!” She chuckled.

“It would cover expenses...” Ashi mused.

“You too?!” Sora gawked.

“Seems _only_ practical.” Ashi almost teased, but still flashed him a bit of a smirk.

“Well, we really _can’t_ thank you enough.” Phoebus added, “I’ll be taking over from here with the clean-up. Seems only right.” Paris _was_ a huge mess now...with half of it burned down, anyway. And that huge indentation in the Cathedral...there were a _lot_ of Saints missing. Sora blushed furiously that it was his fault...not that he had mentioned it to Phoebus. Or anyone, really. Quasimodo had given him enough of a telling-off already! “Sheesh, now I really _wish_ I had taken up that post in England...” He scratched his head.

“Uh- _huh_...” Esmeralda smirked and kissed his cheek. “I heard they killed their king again, by the way.”

“ _Again?!_ I swear that's the fourth one!” Phoebus sighed and ran his hand down his face, “And I thought we Frenchies had a problem!” Sora went to open his mouth about it was going to be a bigger problem later on with a big ol’ Revolution everyone and their mom knew about, but Shidou quickly slapped his back.

“Anyway, we should be going! Best of luck to you all!” She waved frantically before he could spoil their entire future. She began to shove Sora off.

“H-hey!”

Ashi gave a polite bow to them. “Good luck with your repair work. I’m sorry for all of your damages.” She fished around in her bosom - the only place she _could_ store anything in this ridiculous outfit - and handed them some money they had collected throughout their journeys. It was an odd currency that worked everywhere, seemingly morphing to suit the needs whenever they went. “I hope this helps.”

Phoebus’ eyes bugged out of his head. “Is this _real gold?!_ ”

“Holy--” Esmeralda had never seen so much gold in one place, “We can’t--” But the group was already gone. “How did they...?”

“Well, let’s not look at a gift horse in the mouth!” He swept her up in her arms, “Time to put this forward for rebuilding Paris!”

 


	14. Beach Brigade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sailor Moon, away!
> 
> For those of you wondering: what the hell season is this? This is based roughly on one of the Bandi, or "old myu", Sailor Moon Musicals (Sera Myu), Kaguya Shima Densetsu. It's an original Myu so it doesn't take place in any specific season, but I'm placing it sometime after StarS. 
> 
> I will say this is when the OC x Canon really starts, though it's still hinted at.

 

Sora weighed a surprising amount when he was asleep.

Ashi sat, curled up on the couch, with Sora nestled up against her. She had snuggled into the corner and he sat between her legs, cuddled up against her shoulder. He _had_ been playing his pocket monster game on his Dee Ess, whatever that meant. Ashi was still learning this “technology” thing, but was coming to understand Sora's game and his fascination with the little creatures you could catch. They were cute and fun to battle from the looks of it, and she was fascinated. Maybe one day she would learn how to play.

Ashi was reading, of course, and Sora had been content to play quietly against her. Not much had changed between them since this whole courtship thing had happened, aside from Sora being less cautious to approach her for hugs or cuddles. Which he seemed to do with everyone else _anyway_. Like Shidou. He'd probably be cuddled with her too if she were in here. He was very...physical with others? But Ashi had noticed all of the hugs he gave to everyone and the cuddles he gave to Shidou, he didn't hold anyone's hand except hers. Must be a more intimate gesture for him, or at least something he did with close friends. He did it with Riku and Kairi, according to the stories.

Somewhere along the line, Sora had dozed off. He went from probably 90 pounds soaking weight, to complete dead weight. Like, double that. Ashi felt weighed down, but it wasn't unpleasant. He was warm, a little space-heater and it made her feel drowsy herself. Kind of like when Kumo-ii, her cat back home (who she tended to overindulge a lot) would sleep on her lap or chest.

Ashi felt a pang thinking about the large, lovable cat, as well as her pet crow Kara-chan, who were gone now that her world was. As much as she didn't oft show it, Ashi did enjoy the company of animals. They were some of the few things she missed about home, being cuddled up with her large kitty and listening to her crow chitter.

Sora loved animals too. Ashi glanced down from her book and smiled fondly at him, brushing some of his hair from his sleeping face. He somehow managed to keep smuggling animals in from _every single world_ they had been to, and there was a large menagerie in Fuku now. Ashi had outwardly disapproved at first, primarily because they had no idea how to _tend_ to these animals, but inwardly couldn't help liking them. One of the strange, fluffy creatures was laying in the crook of Sora's body right now, actually. Reminded her of a squirrel, come to think of it. Only larger and a pale pink-white, and it's fur felt like petting a cloud. At least, what Ashi suspected a cloud felt like. And having wings for ears that it used to fly. Didn't it come from Cephiro?

“Yo, Ashi, Sora!” Shidou came in during Ashi's musings. She looked up from her book and over the back of the couch. Shidou bent down and rested her elbows on the back of the couch, her chin in her hands. She heard Sora snore and smirked. “Lil' guy's out cold again?”

“Nodded off about fifteen or twenty minutes ago,” Ashi noted, smiling down at him. His game was still on, the battle screen spiraling idly.

“Should call him 'King of the Naps!'” Shidou laughed and shook her head. She gave him a poke in the arm. Sora mumbled in his sleep but didn't stir. Ashi shot her female companion a glare. “What? Fuku found another world about 10 min out. 'S connected so we better go check it out. And you know how groggy he gets!”

Ashi sighed, closing her book and setting it on a table to the side. “Sora, wake up.” She shook his arm. He mumbled again and haphazardly waved her arm off. Rolling her eyes, she looked up at Shidou. He was impossible to wake up sometimes, but Shidou was very good at rousing him.

Shidou grinned, cracked her knuckles and wiggled her fingers. “Annnnd-- TICKLE ATTACK!!” She dug in and began to furiously tickle Sora's ribs. Sora let out a started squawk and started to giggle breathlessly, failing his arms to swat at Shidou. In desperation to flee, he rolled off the couch. Shidou cackled and leaped over it and tackled him, continuing to tickle the poor fool.

Until he managed to punch her right in the jaw, sending her reeling backwards.

Ashi laughed. It was probably the hardest she had laughed in a very, _very_ long time. Both Shidou and Sora jerked their heads over to her, seeing her doubled over on her spot on the couch, holding her sides. Just seeing them act like total bafoons right now was-- she couldn't keep it in! The fact that Sora landed such a hard punch on Shidou in retaliation was _too much!_ Sure, it got him awake, but Shidou should've known better! Such lovable idiots she traveled with!

Sora pouted and flushed, crossing his arms. Shidou just store in amazement, rubbing her jaw. “I didn't think she was _capable_ of that...” She muttered. “Anyway, kid! We got a new world to explore, so lets get ready!” She glanced at the still-cracking up Ashi and smirked. “Once she's done laughing!”

“R-right...” Sora found himself chuckling too, enjoying seeing his new girlfriend letting loose for once.

Shidou smirked. “Nice shot, by the way.” And mock-punched him in the shoulder.

 

\------

When the group landed, they appeared on an island beach. Someplace warm, sunny and sandy. Sora instantly felt like he was home again, and beamed in the bright sunlight.

“Awww _yeah!_ ” He whooped, punching the air with his fist. He whipped around towards his two companions, grinning like an idiot. “Now _this_ is what I call a good world for us to land on!”

Fuku had even dressed everyone appropriately! Sora wore a red tank-top and baggy swim trunks in oranges and yellows, complete with a silhouette of a palm tree on a beach on one leg. He had on a pair of sunglasses and flip-flops, and even had a bag with beach supplies in it! Sunblock, snorkels, and towels for all! Shidou was dressed in a mixture of both masculine and feminine attire; a cut-off black tank top with grin trim along the top and bottom and cut-off jeans that were torn mid-thigh. She had a waist scarf with green, teal and gold floral print on it, and a bandana around the back of her head, holding most of her hair back, as well as sandals.

“ _Yowza_ , look at how blue the ocean is!” Shidou exclaimed, shielding her aqua eyes from the sunlight reflecting off of it. “And you live someplace like _this?_ ” She grinned over at Sora, who met her grin.

“Yup! Blue as far as the eye can see!” He looked back over towards the ocean, then returned his gaze back towards Shidou. And wondered where Ashi was. “Um...” Shidou pointed over her shoulder with her thumb towards a palm tree, back over to a rocky path that lead up towards a towering mountain in the center of the island they found themselves on.

Sure enough, Ashi was staring at the ocean in a blind panic, her skin _dead white_ and her eyes wide with fear, practically _clinging_ _the palm tree to death_. Sora gasped when he saw her and dropped the bag, hurrying over towards her. “Ashi!”

“I-I don-don't l-like th-the oc-ocean...” She whimpered at him, obviously afraid of the vastness and depth she couldn't fathom. Sora put a hand on her shoulder, feeling her flinch under it. He then moved it around to her other shoulder to comfort her, placing the other on her trembling arm.

“It's alright, Ashi.” He reassured in a gentle voice, “We're not going in! You can just stay here, on the beach, nice and safe.”

Ashi swallowed hard. “B-but it's an is-isla-island...wha-what if th-the tide ris-rises?” She swallowed hard. “O-or we si-sink?”

Wow, she didn't know much about how islands worked, did she? “It's okay! The tide won't swallow the island up! And we're a long way from sinking!” Sora smiled at her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “You'll be perfectly safe on the beach! Trust me, alright? I'll keep you safe.” Sora eased her arms off of the tree and began to guide her to a nice spot in the shade. “See, you're a safe distance, and the sand is really nice! I'll get you a towel to sit on, so you can calm down, and then we can explore inland, alright?”

Ashi numbly nodded her head. “R-right...” She mumbled. Shidou was already there with the bag in hand, unwinding a purple towel that must have been designated for Ashi. Flapping it out, she patted it and Sora sat down on it with Ashi, rubbing her shoulder.

“I'm going to go look around the beach a bit, kay?” Shidou noted, rummaging around and finding a straw hat in the bag, putting it on her head.

“Yeah, we'll be here!” Sora chirped. Shidou gave a thumbs up and scurried off, no doubt to give them some “privet time.” Which she was _always_ keen to do these days.

Sora looked back over to Ashi, who was taking some deep breaths and fumbling with the towel between her fingers, looking down at the sand and not at the ocean. She was wearing a pale lavender sun dress, which hugged her very noticeable curves until her waist, flaring out into a bell shape with some eyelet material at the bottom. It looked really good on her, and quite comfortable. He blushed furiously at it, especially since she was wearing a literal bra (she wore a leather bustier normally) with it and _he could see it_. Even though it was a sports bra, he still flushed deeper. Coughing, Sora looked away and continued to rub her shoulder.

“...Thank you, Sora.” Ashi spoke after a while, her voice still shaky, but considerably calmer. Sora blinked, and looked over at her, meeting her gaze. She was looking at him with a soft expression. He felt his cheeks burn and he chuckled, rubbing the nape of his neck.

“N-no problem!” He grinned. “I-I know you don't like water, and the ocean is big and scary! But don't worry, I'm here.” He beat his free hand to his chest, “I'll protect you if you get too close or fall in!” Ashi nodded her head and leaned against him. Sora's heart thudded in his chest, and he turned red.

“I know.” Her voice was quiet. She turned slightly and kissed the crown of his hair. Sora's lips parted slightly, turning around to look up at her, his breath hastened. Ashi looked down at him with a soft, almost intimate expression. Although his heartbeat quickened and his face turned rosy, Sora wasn't embarrassed right then. Looking up into her eyes, he wondered what she was going to do, but he knew what he wanted to happen right then.

_Is she going to kiss me?_ The errant thought ran through his head, his heartbeat quickening and thudding in his throat. _Please kiss me._ Sora knew what he wanted, subconsciously leaning a bit closer towards her, his eyelids falling half closed.

“ _Waaah!_ ” Suddenly, a loud voice and a body came tumbling down the rocky path behind them, the pair jerking their heads in the direction of the voice. A girl with long, blonde pigtails and two buns on the side of her head popped up from the sand. She tossed her pigtails behind her and spat out a mouthful of sand. She, too, wore beach like attire; and with her was an older woman dressed like a pirate. A very well-dressed, purple pirate, with dark brown hair.

“Keep going, you idiot!” The woman shouted, loading her rifle and shooting back up the path. Where Heartless were swarming down.

“R-right!” The bun-haired girl exclaimed, dashing away.

Sora and Ashi were on their feet in an instant, until the bun-haired girl brushed past Sora. Time slowed down as she walked past, slowly turning her head to look back towards them. Her bright blue eyes met Sora's, and something clicked. Recognition registered with both of them, even though he'd never seen her before in his life. Something about her seemed very familiar. An aura filled his senses, something he _knew_ he had felt before, despite being absolutely certain he'd never crossed paths with this girl in his past.

_Kairi..._

Memories flooded back to him. Quite suddenly, he became overwhelmed with emotion as a sense of Kairi overcame him. Sora staggered backwards and he fumbled for the closest thing behind him, grabbing onto Ashi's arm. When he did, his legs gave out and tears flooded his eyes. He had no idea what overcame him just then, but he knew he felt Kairi right then. That girl...he had an overwhelming sense that Kairi was there, too. Their aura's where the same. Almost exactly.

Kairi was there, too. He could _feel_ her, just then.

“Sora!” Ashi exclaimed. She caught him as the world came crashing down, holding him against her and sliding down with him. “Sora, what's--”

“K-Ka...Kai--” He chocked out, clinging to her.

“Sora--”

“Bad news, guys! Heartless!!” Shidou suddenly appeared behind the swarm of Heartless, chasing them down, “ _Worse_ news: I can't find my stupid yo-yo's and my magic isn't--”

“Go after that pirate and the girl with the bun-like hair!!” Ashi shouted at Shidou, “We _need_ to protect them, and Sora's collapsed!”

“But--” Shidou went to protest, but got one of Ashi's trademarked doom glares. “Okay, fine, _fine!_ But you lovebirds better find my fandangled weapons!!” And, like that, she ran off after the swarm of Heartless chasing after the two women.

“Sora, are you alright?!” Ashi shouted, giving him a shake. It took him a moment to blink back to reality.

“Y-yeah, I...I--” He swallowed, “K-Kai...ri...” He muttered, burying his face against Ashi's shoulder. He was shaking. He clung desperately to her, trying to make sense of what he just felt.

“Kairi?” Ashi questioned, jerking her head up and looking around, then back down to him. “Did you sense Kairi? Is she here?”

“I...I-I don't...” Sora swallowed hard.

That aura the girl had – he knew it. It was so similar to Kairi's. The rush of memories right then, it overcame him. It wasn't Kairi he had sensed, it was just the _similarity_. Back then, he didn't really know _how_ to sense aura's. Now, he could, even a little bit. He knew what Shidou and Ashi felt like, and sometimes he could sense other people's, especially those who were strong. Like the blonde girl with the buns. Somehow, he knew that's what Kairi felt like. Their hearts were both strong, both so pure and full of light, and he knew Kairi was...near. Closer then he thought.

_I'm closer then you think_.

He remembered hearing those words. Sniffing, Sora pressed a hand to his heart, feeling it race. Kairi was closer than he thought. Was she here? Not within sight but here. On this world. She had to be! Smiling, he nodded his head and wiped his tears away, looking up at Ashi.

“T-thanks, Ashi. I think I'm...I'm okay, now.” She met his smile with one of her own, nodding her head. “When I saw that girl, I...I-I got overwhelmed, I guess. I somehow knew Kairi's heart felt like hers. I don't know, I can't explain it – but I know Kairi is nearby. Like, not _here_ specifically, but close! We're close to her.” He grinned like a fool, taking Ashi's hands and squeezing them tightly. “We'll see her soon, I know it! I can feel it.”

Ashi smiled brightly at him. “That's amazing, Sora. I'm so happy for you.” She squeezed his hands, “I can't wait to meet her.”

Sora nodded and rose to his feet, pulling Ashi up as well. “So, um...” He flushed, then looked over to the elevators. “W-we need to go find that girl! I get the feeling she's really important. And find out about what's going on here.”

All business again, Ashi narrowed her eyes. “Right!”   
  


\-----

 

It didn't take long for Sora and Ashi to catch up to Shidou, who had flanked the Heartless swarm. Who had cornered the bun-haired girl and the lady pirate by a rocky crevice on the opposite end of the beach. Only Shidou wasn't doing anything, she was waving her hands around and trying to cast her magic, but nothing was happening.

“Shidou, what the hell is going on?!”

“I _told_ you guys!” She hissed back at Ashi, glaring over her shoulder at her, “My magic isn't working, and I can't find my yo-yos!”

“Oh, for the love of-- Sora!”

“On it!” Sora snapped his hand out to summon his Keyblade, but...nothing happened. “Eh?” He blinked at his empty hand, and repeated the gesture. Again and again. He made a face and kept trying to call it, but nothing was working.

“Sora?!” Ashi hissed under her breath, but she was furiously trying to find at _least_ a dagger. It was obvious her naginata or her short sword weren't on her person. “ _Shit_!”

“Is this Fuku's idea of some kind of a joke?! Cause it ain't a funny one!” Shidou dug in her pockets and blinked, pulling out a wand with the symbol that was on the back of her jacket on it. “Uh. What the heckie-who is this?” She blinked, waving it in the air.

Ashi suddenly found one as well, with a picture of a white lily opening up to reveal violet inside on it. “Same here...” Sora instinctively touched his crown charm, which then started to glow.

“What the...?!” And he was engulfed in light. So were Shidou and Ashi...well, Ashi was more “engulfed in shadow,” if you want to be specific. But Sora was so shocked that he didn't really notice.

When the light died down, he was wearing a domino mask and a very, _very_ fancy, dark red and _velvet_ tuxedo. Like, the kind you'd expect a prince or something to wear! And too dang hot to wear on a tropical island. Complete with a cape, and his Keyblade was in his hands. “Whoa...” He exclaimed, looking down at himself and admiring what he was now wearing.

“Now a mini-skirt and _high heels?!_ ” Sora jerked his head up from what he was wearing, and over to Ashi. And promptly blushed.

Ashi (and Shidou) were now in modified schoolgirl uniforms, only. _..way more girly._ Sporting pleated mini-skirts, large bows on their chests and backs, long gloves and yes, high-heels (though Ashi whore knee-high boots). Ashi's outfit was primarily black, purple and teal, while Shidou's was white, green and gold. Sure, the outfit did look a little ridiculous on Ashi's thicker frame, but it still...looked really, _really_ good. It hugged her curves and showed off her muscular legs and, well...Sora liked how she looked. And it showed off a lot of skin.

Any time he saw her skin he blushed.

Shidou didn't look happy in the outfit, either. “Aww man! This is _so_ not cool!” She tried to pull the skirt down, “Doesn't fit my androgynous style at _all,_ dude!”

“What the--? Sailor Senshi?!” The lady pirate shouted.

“Oh my!” The bun-haired girl exclaimed. “I thought they just existed in Japan?” She looked equally surprised. “Who are you?”

“Oh! I'm, uh...” Suddenly, an urge took over Sora. He grasped his cape and swooshed it with great melodrama, “Tuxedo Sora! I am the Great Defender of Worlds, Slayer of Heartless, and Bearer of the Keyblade!” He twirled the Keyblade, brandishing it with great flourish. Wait, where did all _that_ come from?!

“I am Sailor Shidou!” Like Sora, Shidou suddenly struck a dramatic pose. Only he noticed flashy lights and glitter with hers. Wait, did he have those, too?! “Servant of Yen Sid, former of Leopardus, survivor of Wars! With my wind magic, I'll heal my allies and confound my foes!” Once introduced, she stopped and store at her hands. “What the-- I swear I did _not_ mean to say that!” She flushed and buried her face in her hands, waving one furiously in front of her. “Forget that happened!”

“Like a shadow from behind, I am Sailor Ashi-no-Hotaru.” Ashi was far more brooding and, well, cooler. With shadows and her wings even came out. Sora liked her wings, they were so pretty...she even had feathers floating around her. So cool...! “The Chrysanthemum Devil of the South, I will sweep in like the night and leave nothing once day breaks.” Much like Sora and Shidou, Ashi paused and blinked, unaware of what she did. She pinched her nose. “Oh, for the love of Amaterasu...”

“Well...now we can finally fight these creeps!” Shidou shouted, whipping her bladed yo-yo's out and cutting through a swath of the Heartless.

“You're telling me!” Ashi slid her Naginata into an offensive position, Sora doing the same with his Keyblade. “Dark Devil Pulse!” She shouted, briefly looked like she wondered what the hell she had just said, before charging into the fray and releasing a very spectacular dark attack that destroyed a good section of the hoard of Heartless. Sora hadn't ever seen her use that attack, or ever...say anything before she used her magic. Sora sometimes did and so did Shidou, but Ashi? _Never._ “Okay what is going on?” She muttered, looking at her hands.

“Sora Fira!” Sora shouted, creating a cyclone of flame around himself that engulfed the Heartless around him then lashed out in a small hurricane. He then began to cut down the Heartless one by one, together with Ashi and Shidou. It didn't take long for the three of them – with the Pirate lady – to make quick work of the group.

“Well, I guess I can thank you for saving my – our – skin.” The pirate said, almost sarcastically as she leaned her rifle on her shoulder. “The name's Loof Merrow, by the way.”

“Tsukino Usagi!” The bun-haired girl chirped, smiling. “Wow, that was soooo cool how you did that!”

“ _Don't_ think we're friends. I'm still looking the Ginzuishou.” Loof Merrow muttered over at Usagi, un-slinging her rifle. “I need to go find my crew, they got lost somewhere in the fray.” Tipping her hat, she flashed a grin at the group and strode off, obviously someone with her own goals in mind. Sora wasn't sure what to make of her – at least she didn't hit on Ashi like Farris did - but was glad that the danger was over, and Usagi was safe.

“...Don't see why she just can't _ask..._ ” Usagi muttered under her breath, before turning towards the others. “Sorry! She's a nice person, I'm sure...but you know how things are. We've been swarmed with those weird shadow creatures since we _got_ here! Been nothing but bad luck...all we wanted was some jewels, and look where it got us.” She sighed and shook her head, her pigtails flailing. “Anyway, what are your names? Oh! I also go by Sailor Moon, but I can't just tell Loof Merrow that. But you guys are Senshi too, so that means we're friends!”

Wow, she sure talked a lot! Sora liked Usagi already. “Oh! I'm Sora, and this is...Shidou and...Ashi...um...” Wow that seemed redundant. Their names were in their titles? Senshi names? So confusing. Usagi gave a sidelong grin when she realized how silly it was too.

“Well...nice to meet all of you!” She shook everyone's hands, but stopped and held Sora's a bit longer, looking into his eyes. Sora realized her eyes were the same color as his. Usagi furrowed her brows. “Have...we met before, Sora? I get the weirdest feeling we have.”

Sora shook his head. “No, I, we-- we come from a long, long ways away.” Weird, how she felt the same way he did...was it a coincidence or something? Or fate? Usagi blinked and looked between them.

“But you're all Japanese I think...? Or your names are...” Pausing, she gained a distant look to her eyes. “Oh. You mean, from out there.” She looked beyond Sora and towards the skies.

“Uh!” Sora gasped, his eyes going wide. He couldn't say that, could he?!

“It's okay! I know other Senshi exist outside of our world!” Usagi laughed, patting him on the shoulder, “It's really cool that you're from there! I've never met a Sailor Senshi from outer space before! Can you tell me what it's like?! Oh, you need to come to camp with me! Someone as _cool_ and _amazing_ as the three of you just _gotta_ meet my team! Everyone will love you, and Mako-chan can cook you an _amazing_ meal, and Ashi-san, you're just as _gorgeous_ as Rei-chan and Michiru-san, and then there's--”

While Usagi rambled on, she practically _dragged_ the trio away. For someone as short, cute and chubby as Usagi was, she sure was super strong!

 

\-----  
  


“You did _what?!_ ”

When Usagi dragged the trio back to her campsite, there were only two of her “very large group” there presently. One of them, a tall and fit androgynous woman (Sora was pretty sure it was a woman) with platinum blonde hair named Haruka, got defensive the _instant_ she noticed 3 strangers were following the bun-haired blonde into their camp, and then got _even more defensive_ when she found out Usagi had told them she was Sailor Moon.

“But they're Sailor Senshi, just like us!” Usagi argued back, not intimidated by Haruka's outburst. She even pouted slightly, which caused the other blonde to soften her resolve, but only just. “Sure they may be from outside of our System, but it doesn't mean they're bad people! They've been fighting those weird shadow creature's we've been tracking around the island, and are experts on them!”

Haruka's resolve firmed up again. “It doesn't mean you should _tell them who you are_ right off the bat!” She pointed an accusing finger at Sora. He blinked and tilted his head innocently, looking quite confused why she was accusing him. Quickly realizing Sora was too precious to hurt a fly, Haruka shifted the finger over to Ashi, who just met her accusing gaze with a steely one. “For all you know, they could be the _enemy!_ ”

Usagi huffed and crossed her arms. “They defeated those weird shadow monsters!”

“They're called Heartless, by the way!” Shidou added, but got a glare from Haruka in response. She backed down. Sora winced sympathetically; sheesh, Haruka sure was scary! Almost as scary as Ashi could be...

“ _And_ Loof Merrow helped us with them, too!” Usagi also added with a serious nod of her head.

Haruka glared at Usagi, but her gaze once again softened when she saw Usagi's pout. “Ugh, look, we _still_ don't know where Loof Merrow's loyalties lie!” She sighed, reaching up and rubbing her temples. “Or what she wants with the Ginzuishou. But that's not here nor there!” She once again pointed at the trio, lining the finger up with Ashi. “We have no idea where _their_ loyalties lie!”

“Against the Heartless...?” Sora nervously responded. He got a glare from Haruka.

“But how can we trust you?!” He winced again and clung to Ashi's arm. She was _really_ scary!

One of the other member's of Usagi's party heaved a heavy sigh. “Look, Haruka-san, I know you just want to protect Usako, but please trust in _her_.” The voice came from Mamoru, who Usagi introduced as her boyfriend. “She hasn't been wrong before in her feelings. She wasn't wrong about Hotaru-chan...and she wasn't wrong about _you._ ”

Haruka flushed with embarrassment at Mamoru's comment, heaving a heavy sigh and rubbing her temples again. Usagi flashed sad puppy eyes up at the tall, androgynous woman, giving a pout so _good_ it made Sora jealous of her pouting skills. Shidou snickered when she saw Haruka reel backwards, struck through the _heart_ with this cute little pout she was getting from the tiny, cute little bun-haired girl.

“So...cute...” Haruka muttered, turning red, pressing a hand to her face and looking away.

“Looks like someone needs to take adorable lessons from Usagi.” Shidou chuckled, elbowing Sora in the sides. He flushed and pouted at her.

“Do _not!_ ”

“Please. If Sora got any cuter, I think _I_ would turn into Haruka.” Ashi's comment caused him to whip around and turn even more red, staring google eyed up at her.

“W-wha...?!”

A small smirk came to her lips. “You heard me.”

Before he could say anything else on the matter, Haruka spoke up. “ _Damnit_ , odango! You know I can't resist that face.” She hissed, reaching out and ruffling Usagi's hair. Usagi giggled and smiled brightly up at her companion, before hugging her tightly.

“Thank you, Haruka-san!!” She chirped. “They're our friends, I promise!”

“Fine, fine.” Haruka sighed, begrudgingly. She patted Usagi on the head.

Mamoru cleared his throat, turning towards the trio. “Now that that's settled...” He flashed an awkward, apologetic smile at them. “What can you tell us about these, Heartless? Did you say?”

“Well...” Shidou gave them a quick run-down on the whole shebang on the Heartless and what they were. Why they were going from world to world to try and track them down – just leaving out the bits where they _weren't_ technically “Sailor Senshi,” of course. “...And there you have it!” She grinned, putting her hands on her hips. “Not sure what they're doing here though...they tend to be drawn to darkness in folks' hearts.”

“Well, it's not anyone in our group.” Mamoru noted, “And while we don't know much about Loof Merrow, she doesn't seem inherently evil...”

“I can sense darkness as well,” Ashi informed in a cautious tone. Haruka gave her a skeptical glance, but didn't say anything more when she felt Usagi's bright blue eyes on her. “But while I can sense the Heartless, I can't pinpoint a source. Nothing is jumping out at me for what they're drawn to, or who. Loof Merrow, as you said Mamoru-san, isn't the source. Her heart is surprisingly light for someone as aloof as she is.”

“Strange.” Mamoru pressed a hand to his chin. “I wonder what it could be, then...”

Sora's eyes shifted to his hands. Were they here because of him? He knew they were drawn to the Keyblade as well, because he could vanquish them and seal the world off from them. It was a possibility, if nothing else came up.

As if on cue, sure enough the Heartless decided it was time to appear.

Knowing what to do now, Sora, Ashi and Shidou transformed into their new states, and they got to see Usagi change as well! Her outfit was much fancier then theirs, or even Haruka's! She had wings and lots of sparkles and extra layers to her skirts and longer gloves. Mamoru sported a similar tuxedo to Sora's, only in all black with red lining to his fancy cape.

It was clear they had all worked as a team before for a long time. Sailor Moon and Haruka – now Sailor Uranus – blended their attacks perfectly, both their magic and attacking with Uranus' curved sword and Moon's very girly mace...staff...thing. Mamoru, or Tuxedo Kamen, used a cane to fight and also threw roses and blasted enemies. And spouted poetry while doing it. As if his dorky beach attire didn't say enough...Sora liked him.

Once the Heartless were cleared, they needed to come up with a plan. Hopefully one before they lost their daylight.

“Alright, I think we should split up.” Ashi noted, leaning her naginata against her shoulder. Sora knew the danger was gone by the very familiar gesture. “We'll go looking for the source of the Heartless, and Sora can seal the pathway that let them in once we find it.”

“I'll go with you!” Sailor Moon offered right away. Sailor Uranus looked aghast at the notion.

“What? _No!_ ” She exclaimed.

Her leader turned towards her and gave her a firm nod of her head and put her hands on her hips. “Look, they'll need help and we've already been around _most_ of the island!” Sailor Moon explained, jabbing a finger towards Uranus, “They'll keep me safe, especially Sailor Shidou with her shield magic!”

“Yup!” Shidou offered, idly playing with her yo-yos.

“Besides,” Moon continued, “My attacks seem to do the most damage out of _all of us_ against the Heartless. Might as well be me, right?”

“But--I--” Uranus attempted to protest, but knew she was defeated. Sighing, she drooped down. “Alright, I see your point.” Leaning her sword against her shoulder, she looked pointedly at the trio. “Keep my princess safe, or I'll skewer you one by one. Got it?”

“Got it!” Sora saluted. “She'll be safe in our hands!” Of this, he was confident of. Plus both he and Shidou could heal her, too!

“Kamen, I'm going to go look for the others and give them the what's what if you want to stay at camp for those who come back.” Uranus advised him, and he gave an affirmative nod. “I'm a lot faster then you are so I figure it makes the most sense.”

“Got it, no problem.”

With that settled, everyone broke off to their own assignments. Sailor Uranus hurried off towards the mountain path to find the others, while Tuxedo Kamen began to set up a perimeter around their base camp. Thankfully, it was still only afternoon, so they had plenty of time to search.

That left Sora and his group to find the source of the darkness the Heartless were attracted to.

Sora looked to Ashi. So did Shidou. Sailor Moon even looked over at her once she realized everyone _else_ was. Ashi furrowed her brows. Then rubbed her temples. Expectant expressions were worn on the three faces staring at her.

“I'm _trying_ , okay?!” She shouted, snapping around and glaring at them. Sora winced at her outburst. Sighing angrily, she lowered her hand from her temples. “Look, this...isn't as easy as it seems to be. I can't sense any residual dark energy _anywhere_ on this damn island. I can sense the Heartless, but I can't pinpoint _where_ they're coming from!” Lowering her head down, Ashi's shoulders slumped. “My senses don't always work on command, guys.” Lifting her head back up, she looked down a path that wrapped around the beach, “Best I can say is we just start looking and go from there. I sense some Heartless that way.”

Sora could feel the dejection in her voice. His brows knitted together and he pursed his lips together into a thin line. He was just...so used to Ashi being confident about her powers that he never really _thought_ about how it actually made her feel. But, come to think of it, it wasn't always an exact science...Ashi's ability to sense darkness didn't always work. Cephiro, Notre Dame, Monstro...he felt _awful_ for not noticing it before, and for always relying on her to guide them without thinking about _her_ feelings. Reaching out, he touched the back of Ashi's hand.

Ashi sighed, but pulled away from him. “Thank you, but I don't need your pity, Sora.” She looked at him with one of her unreadable expressions, before moving in the direction she indicated. Sora blinked, startled by her reaction to him attempting to comfort her. What...was that?

“ _Ouch._ ” Was all Shidou said when she walked past Sora, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Well...Ashi _is_ an independent woman...?” She gave a shrug and followed after Ashi, leaving Sora to wallow in his rejection.

Sailor Moon came up to him. “So, um...if you don't mind me asking, are you and Ashi-san dating?” Her head tilted.

“Uh...” Sora was so dumbfounded by Ashi's reaction it took him a moment to come back down to reality. Shaking his head he looked over towards her. “Uh, um...y-yeah...” He swallowed hard. How was he supposed to react to something like this?

Moon took his hand with both of hers and smiled reassuringly. “Don't worry, alright?” Her voice was assuring and warm. “She seems like a strong person who doesn't _think_ she needs people, but she totally does!” She squeezed his hand, “And she's _crazy_ about you, I can tell!”

Sora felt his cheeks start to burn, looking down at the sand below his feet. How could someone they barely know tell something like that? Especially when she was acting so cold all of the sudden? “Just give her some space, I think she needs to process, mmkay?” She gave a tug on his hand and grinned, “Now let's go! Don't we have some of those Heartless things to chase down?”

Sora looked up and met her gaze. Wow, Sailor Moon sure was cheerful! He really liked her. So bright and full of light...he couldn't help but to grin in return. “Yeah!”

 

 


End file.
